Wasn’t sure if to put this into the intro but here we go.. 2010 XF, I’ve had it for about 3 1/2 years now. I have about 90k miles so yes I am a everyday driver until recently.. About 2 years ago I had the coolant light come on a day or two right after an oil change. As an idiot and this being my first V8 vech, I live about 20 minutes from the dealership here in Carmel and so I drove it to the dealership. That was the worst thing I could do. Water pump, hoses, coolant tank and timing belt need to be replaced costing me about $4k. Was lucky that the engine wasn’t damaged. After this anytime any light or anything comes on I tow to dealership. After that everything’s been relatively good. Dare I say amazing. Then.. around mid Feb this year, normal yearly oil change scheduled and completed. About beginning of April, coolant light comes on. I’m now told that it’s the age of the vehicle and that the engine is working a little harder, about every 2 to 3 months the coolant may be draining a bit faster now. I can get that at 90k miles. But.. after getting the coolant topped off, a week later the light came back on. So now my buddy has just been sitting in the garage and not driven or turned on since the light came back on. Okay so, I just turned the car on and opened the hood. I let it run for about five minutes and I don’t see any leaking around the tank or anything looking out of the ordinary aside from me needing a car wash. When I look at the Coolant tank it’s seeming to look like it’s filtering into the tank from the top or something…? Not sure how to explain what I’m seeing but I am gonna purchase some coolant next time I drop by but I’m not sure if to schedule a appointment or not and ask if they can do a full inspection? Again took a picture to see if maybe the light flashing on was a mistake? Because the low coolant light was off just now the whole time the car was on. The coolant level of course is a lot lower than when it was topped because if I’m not mistaken, I thought that it should be right below the cold air filter line? Again, I was wondering if anyone else has any issues with the coolant burning too fast or if I have an issue somewhere that I can’t see or don’t have the knowledge to know what I’m looking at. Thanks for any help.

Coolant seeming to look like it’s filtering into the tank? Not sure how to explain what I’m seeing..

 

After an overnight cold-soak, use a cooling system pressure tester to pressurise the system to 1 bar. Watch the tester gauge to see if the pressure begins to drop after a minute or two. If it does, check for leaks and have them repaired.

Here is an example of a cooling system pressure tester being sold on eBay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/31329165344...3ABFBMzPz-mPdh

 

Has the engine been operated in an overheating event?

 

sorry kind sir wasn’t sure how to reply, new on the site. Nope not at all that I am aware of. Is there a warning light that would come on for that? If so one has never. Also if you mean rpm’s topping out, I do drive on sport sometimes on the highway but I’ve not had anything stall or go over revving out of the ordinary. You did remind me that new the end of December after Christmas before I had my oil change I was trying to get an appointment sooner than February because the check engine light was on solid. I’d got a read on it and it was throwing a P0171 and P0174 “system to lean” codes. When I’d called the dealership they’d said that it was okay to drive until my appointment as long as the check engine light was solid because they couldn’t get me an appointment any sooner than the one I’d already had scheduled. So there was an inspection with my oil change in February and they’d said the issue was that there was a hose that was disconnected. Not sure if any of this information helps.

 

Hope you were mistaken about changing the timing belt?
Your car has chains no belts?

Yes do a cold pressure test as that's the best way to find it.
You did $4k of work but you need to list EVERYTHING that was done with part numbers.
At 90K there is some maintenance to be done but no the engine will not use coolant at any point unless there is a leak. Engines running properly don't consume coolant.

So at 90K miles you should do a coolant change and change the spark plugs. Timing chains and tensioners should be inspected and do you have any timing chain noises? Many examples if you do some searching. Also the SC snout is probably clunking too so add that repair and please change the SC oil when you replace the snout. Just a good time to do it.

If it was my car I would get the two failure prone plastic cooling parts swapped with the lifetime Aluminum ones currently available.
Has the water pump been changed?
.
.
.

 

I remember they asked about an engine drive belt, if I wanted to replace whilst they had everything taken apart because it would eventually need to be replaced anyway. They did do a pressure check to check if there was a leak in the coolant tank on Feb and they didn’t find anything. I have an appointment to get an inspection next week though, I hope this helps.

 

Sorry, and to answer your question about timing chain noises, I looked up what you’re saying but nope I haven’t had anything like that or revving out of the ordinary or anything. Crazy thing is the car drives perfect, no out of the ordinary noises or anything. Don’t think I’ve had spark plugs replaced though, looks like something I can ask about next week.

 

OK you meant drive belt or serpentine belt which yes it's time for a new belt too.

Great that you got the latest water pump revision too (Part number ends with 3909) as well as the front plastic pipes changed out. I don't see the coolant tank listed in your repair bill? They can and do leak but it's not that common compared to the plastic cooling pipes.
I still recommend going to the after market Aluminum ones but since you just paid for everything I would keep a sharp eye on the coolant and oil levels.

Your picture does not show the two big black plastic front pipes? Hopefully they gave you the Jaguar updated plastic ones with the smooth seams? Not the ones with the big fat welded seams that leak?

To hear if the SC snout has a clunk. Turn off the radio with the car idling then open the drivers door. Now turn off the engine and listen for a clatter or clunking sound as the engine shuts down.
.
.
.

 

Sadly. With a heavy heart. I found out. All hope is lost. The engine needs to be replaced and it’s gonna cost $28,731.39.

 

Any advice? Or is my buddy just not able to be saved unless the engine is replaced?

 

Well it looks like the car was over heated in the past and possibly more than once? I think you post indicates that too? You kept driving after the coolant light came on.
How often do you check fluid levels?

No suggestions as an all Aluminum engine simply can't be run over heated. We see this every day too. I just drove to the next exit or I just drove it home a short distance. When the car gets hot it's time to stop NOW! No driving anywhere even in the middle of the interstate shut it off and pull to the side of the road and get it towed somewhere.

Since it's such a huge problem I think it would be worth it to have it tested again by someone else? DO NOT tell the next place what's going on either. You want a completely independent check by someone who does have any preconceived notions of what's wrong. Now these test kits are pretty cheap and I really recommend you get somewhat involved and do the testing on your own.

It will let you make a more informed decision and you will learn something about your car.
.
.
.

 

@Pizzakid, with the engine completely COLD, remove the spark plugs and use a cooling system pressure tester to pressurise the system to 1 bar. Use a bore scope to look into each cylinder to see if there is coolant entering whilst the cooling system is under pressure.

Aluminium engines cannot tolerate an overheating event without head gasket failure or warping of the cylinder heads and or block. Generally, once a head gasket fails, the cylinder(s) involved begin to misfire constantly. Remedy is to remove the cylinder head(s) and inspect the head and block for cracks or warping.