I believe that you are receiving fair treatment, (without the benefit of being able to read your warranty fine print.) To be honest when I read your first few posts here I thought that you would have a very difficult fight on your hands to get the warranty company to pay for a new engine. I would think all totaled up it will be over $20,000 US dollars to do the work they are going to do for your car.

I also believe that once finished you will have a better car (engine) than you had just prior to the problems. So you shouldn't worry too much, as long as the work is performed professionally.

 

Thanks Mahjik! The old engine was only 15 k miles, that is why I think is not worth paying for a new head gasket. About the spark plugs I think that I will wait for the next annual revision. For the injector cleaning I will use Redline fuel system cleaner. I read here in the forum that it is one of the best. If I were in the US I would take into account the sonic cleaning but not in Spain. Thanks for your advice.

 

Thank you very much JagRag!

I don't know how the JLR warranty works in the US, but here in Spain if you break the engine just one month (and less than 6 hundred miles) after purchasing the vehicle from the JLR dealer, for sure it will cover all the parts involved in the issue. For instance, you pay an extra for having the vehicle under the two years official JLR warranty (for second hand car, is called Jaguar Approved). Supposedly the vehicle is delivered completely revised (162 points of review included). For sure I know that they do not have to change my wear items like the spark plugs, unless I pay for it. I will share with you the final invoice when I get it but maybe yes it will be over 25 k $

 

Anybody knows about the vacuum pump in the V8 which was the origin of my issue? As I said it was the cause of the lack of lubrication on the timing chain and for this reason it finally broke. Any other similar cases? I just found in the forum issues related to the water pump, but no one related to this vacuum pump. Thanks in advance!

 

Jorge,
I have never read or heard of a vacuum pump related to the lubrication or the timing chains on the AJ133.
All I know is the timing chains are lubricated/oiled by "squirters" - thin tubes which pick up oil from the sump and squirt it onto the timing chains.
Maybe in your case the oil pressure was very low for some unknown reason so the squirters didn't get fed, and that is what they mean by "vacuum pump"?

 

I don't know @OzXFR ... The only vacuum pump I ve ever heard about in an engine is on diesel engines and it is used for the servo-brake (brake pedal assistance). But I am pretty sure that the mechanic said vacuum pump. If I am not wrong he also said that this pump is used to move the oil pump and other elements also. When I pick up the car I will ask him again about the issue for a better understanding. Many thanks

 

There's certainly a vacuum in the engine - that's what controls the exhaust valves - so maybe that vacuum is somehow used to suck (rather than pump) the oil around.

 

Gaskets are typically single use only (most of them have 'crush' locations). That doesn't mean they can't be reused but the seal is not guaranteed to be as good. I would not reuse any gasket where things are coming apart for something like this (i.e. if they are moving the head from your old motor, just replace the gasket). If this was something like a race car where the engine is going to get rebuilt frequently, then I would have no issues reusing gaskets multiple times.

 

OK, I will ask the dealer for a new gasket budget and what they think about it. I suppose that just the gasket will not be very expensive. Then I will make the decision. Thanks Mahjik!

 

I am curious if you had any indications what so ever prior to the failure. I know it is in hindsight now, but were there any odd noises you might recall or small engine misfires at idle occasionally, or slight hesitation under throttle load? Or any other unusual characteristics during driving, idling, at start-up or during hard acceleration?

 

Prior to the failure the car was running perfect. But the engine yellow light came ON on the dashboard the morning of the tragedy.

As I said I was doing a trip through Portugal (one week). Everything in the car was running smoothly, perfect idle, sound, consumption... not a single sign of the issue during the fist month of having the car. But it was on the return day to Spain, when I started the engine in the morning I saw the yellow engine light (not flashing). I thought in a O2 sensor or something not very serious as the idle was good. So I started the trip back home (2 hundred miles) driving very carefully. It was on Sunday so the next morning my idea was take it to the dealer. Despite the engine light, the car still going perfect. I had been driving very carefully but everything looked OK. Maybe a very slight hesitation under throttle load but I can't remember well and I didn't want to push hard. I made almost half of the way and then it happened. I made a stop for refueling, and after that when I was speeding up on to the highway the engine broke. As I said before suddenly it entered on some kind of safe mode, I could no longer accelerate (like if the throttle pedal was disconected), it just slowed down until I could pull over to the roadside and the engine finally stopped. I didn't heard any noise, not any smoke, not bad smell. So I tried to start it several times but nothing. The only thing I could do was call the tow truck.

 

I'm not absolutely certain but I think the engine driven vacuum pump (which provides brake vacuum and some other functions) is connected to the same auxiliary shaft that also drives the oil pump and high pressure fuel pumps. I suppose some failure in the vacuum pump could have impacted the oil pump drive.

 

I think that matches with the mechanic's explanation. I hope the car will be ready for next week and then I will ask him again for a better understanding of the issue. I will tell you as soon as I know. Many thanks

 

UPDATE:

I have the car back from the dealer with the new engine three weeks ago. Everything seems OK since then. But the engine it’s a brand new one so I being careful to keep the revs down during the break in period (I already drove nearly 2k km, so I will start pushing harder soon). The cause of my issue was the vacuum pump mentioned by @TXFireblade. I can share with you the final invoice but it is in Spanish.

The only thing I have noticed since I have the car back, is that the gearbox is not as smooth as I remember before the engine failure. My sensation is like the gearbox is always on dynamic mode (very fast and sharp but not smooth, I can feel like a shove when I upshift while I am speeding up (not full throttle) even when I am driving in normal mode. When I change to dynamic mode I feel no difference. Is there any chance that the gearbox could be not properly fitted in? Maybe a software issue?

Thanks in advance.

 

Congratulations on getting your car back. I recommend doing a very early oil change on your new engine - don't wait for full oil change interval on your first oil change.

Gearbox problems seems to me like adaptation issues. Ask dealership to reset adaptations to trigger new learning. Alternatively, it could be an issue with engine and/or transmission mounts. Either way, this is not normal and should have be brought back to the shop that did engine swap.

 

I wouldn't disagree, but it's had 2000 km to relearn. Does it really have to be reset to unlearn stuff?

 

On my XKRS, I see no difference on the shifting behavior, between the Dynamic mode ON or OFF. It's only between the mode D and S.

 

Almost true...https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/


Regarding your gearbox...new engine, old box. They are not 'bedded in' together yet. Give it a while to settle maybe?

I'm not sure on the gearbox software side.

Are 'learning/adaptions' an 'urban myth' regarding the gearbox ?
I can't see anywhere in the TCM where it could do this?

 

If you drive in a "spirited manner" the gearbox will tend towards dynamic mode behavio(u)r anyway, I noticed this in my 2010 XKR. In the F-Type the difference in dynamic is immediate and very noticeable.

 

Ah, that explains it...The butler only ever uses the F for shopping runs, so it stays in lady mode...sorry 'lazy' mode. ;-)