hello all, i'm new to the site and to jaguars. I just purchased an 03 s-type with an oil leak. I changed the valve cover gasket and that leak is fixed, but i still have a pretty fast leak leaving 2 puddles of oil on the ground toward the front of the car and i cant find it. Any help would be greatly appreciated....

 

i'm now starting to wonder if the oil pressure switch is leaking, the puddle location would suggest that. Now, to figure out how to check that

 

V8 or V6? On my 4.0, the oil filter is in front of the engine. To find an oil leak takes bright light and your finger. You are looking for wet lines of oil or the drip at the end. Finding a leak can be easier to spot if you park the car over white paper. At least then you can work backwards to the leak. Whatever you do, don't pressure wash it. Not good on wires. You can wipe everything down with a rag and then go "Oil Hunting".

 

it's a v6, 3.0 i can see some of the trail its taking, but i loose it. I put some oil stop leak in it earlier. The drips have slowed down to 1 drip per min and a half. It was a drip every 5 secs. I have cardboard down showing the drip location, moving in a fresh piece every so often. So far no luck finding its source. I did read on here i think, that if your jaguar isn't leaking oil, you're out of oil. That saying seems to be holding true.

 

Some 3.0 owners have reported a leaking oil pan gasket. You may want to start there....

 

i don't think the oil pan gasket could be the problem b/c of the location of the oil puddle. I know it follows pipes and wires ect.... The puddle is in the front right of the car. It's been raining all day and havent had a chance to really check anything...

 

well the rain continues and so does the leak, i've noticed that it leaks heavy on start up but after it warms up the leaks slows down to almost a stop. Still waiting on better weather to really tear into it, ill update as soon as i find something out.

 

After many years of motorcycle wrenching I've come to love flourescent dye for finding oil leaks. You can get it at any parts store (oreilley's etc) usually. You'll need a black light or if you don't have one just go to a party store. You can get the dye on Amazon also Dye link

Simply shine the black light over your engine bay so you are sure there's nothing glowing already by chance, then pour some of the dye in your engine oil. It won't hurt or degrade your oil. Run the engine and keep shining your light on the engine till the glow tells you where the leak(s) is. If it's not shining after five or ten minutes you may have to drive the car around the block.

I've had motorycles where it never would leak in the garage idling, but once some torque was put on the drivetrain the culprit would show it's ugly head (worn out gaskets that are just good enough at idle but heat/torque bends the part enough to warp and allow the leak to start, etc).

I've run oil with half a bottle of dye in it for 5k miles with no ill effects afterward too so you don't have to do an oil change afterward if you don't want.

Also, you can order on Amazon as well. Finally, if you're a cheap ******* you can take an old flourescent bulb and scratch a little of the white paint off the outside. They're all black lights to start, the white just gives it the normal light color you're used to.

Hope this helps. - S