The engine in my 2002 Jaguar X-Type 2.5 had been making a popping noise everytime i would step on the gas... As i was driving it to the mechanic to get it checked out, I heard a loud pop in the engine. The car stopped and a lot of smoke started to come out from the hood. I tryed to turn on the car but it wouldn't. Alot of oil started to leak from the bottom of the car. Any ideas what this might be, i have no mechanical experiences and this is my first Jaguar. I had never had any problems with it in the past... any information is heplfull.

 

ljt0, based on what you are describing, it isn't sounding good for you. I would venture to guess that you blew out the oil system in your car, leading to the engine trashing itself. You should be able to open up the hood and take a look. From the sounds of things, it should be pretty obvious what is wrong. All you should have to do is follow the oil trail back to the source. I have a feeling that when you see the problem, you will recognize it right away.

Now, it could be possible that you somehow got a pressure build up in the oil space of the car and simply blew out one of the gaskets. But, I am just trying to figure out how that could have happened.

Not to ask an obvious question, but when you attempted to start the car, did the car make a click sound like you had a bad starter? (would have only been a single tick vice the repeated ones when the starter goes). Don't go out and attempt to do this if you are not sure. Hearing that single click would indicate to me that you have caused serious damage to the engine. If the motor turned over like it was attempting to start but would not fire, then you might be in luck.

Either way, get the car to your mechanic and go from there. He will be able to tell you what is wrong and you can go from there. Lets us know what it is. There's some of us here that use things like this to learn about our cars and then pass on the info to other people.

 

Thanks for the infor Thermo... actually the car was running when i heard the pop and the engine turning off. Immediatley i pulled over and openned up the hood. Everything seemed to be in place. Saw nothing out of the ordinary. Out of curiosity i looked under the car and saw it was leaking oil. I had never had any problems with the car until this week when i noticed it would make a noise when i would shift into gear and step on the gas..

 

ljt, I am wondering if you had a transfer case blow up on you. That is what it sounds like. Just because you are seeing an oily substance on the ground doesn't mean it is motor oil. The transfer case gear lube could easily be mistaken for motor oil when it is hot. That seems to be more likely as the transfer case is a common failure item and based on the clicking that you were hearing, seems a bit more plausible. The other good news is that it is a cheaper fix than a new motor.