I noticed on driveway some black fluid…it tasted sweet but was quite dark. I brought it to my Jaguar shop and they put it on lift. The oil plug was dry and they seemed somewhat perplexed as to how oil had gotten there. They initially rushed to pressure test assuming my water pump was leaking. As an aside when they took the bottom plastic tray off it exposed quite a bit of rust. They suggested rust proof (does that service include sanding down of rust pre application?). Any ideas on how oil is getting on control arm would be great. My Oil level was fine when checked… I have a 2014 XKR.

 

motor mounts maybe

 

Which control arm, left or right side looking at the car?
Right side might be power steering fluid or coolant, coolant though would look pinkish and kind of clear. If it is reddish, that would be power steering. Look at the inside of the wheel, a leaking brakeline can look very dark.

 

Under the car looking up it was right side. If I was facing front of car it would be left. Fluid was blackish but sweet tasting.

 

+1 on the motor mounts - they are filled with fluid, but I have never seen (or tasted) it. Should be able to get a good look at them while on a lift. Also easy to test while engine is running.

 

OK a little forum 101 - please put your location and vehicle info in your signature. It helps us all.
I went to your profile and see you're in Canada. I assume Steering wheel is on the left. Which means you are saying the leak is on the passenger side. You say the leak is on the control arm and one then assumes you mean the lateral arm and not the banana arm.
Sweet usually equals coolant as they must have assumed as well, since they pressure tested the car.
The pressure test passed and your reservoir is full and no coolant smell?

If all of that is true, salty is on the correct path imo. Engine mounts are fluid filled. Is there any vibration in the vehicle? Any impact noise? Look at the under side of the hood for any dents in the insulation. Basically when an engine mount goes bad, it will lift on acceleration. You might see it if you have someone looking at the engine while you rev it in park. One side will lift. Actually there's another way to do a quick check too but you should have a tech do it.

Lastly, you mention rust but you don't mention where. Pics would help. What concerns me here is you don't explain the results of the techs findings and why they moved away from finding the oil source and on to rustproofing.

 

That’s Sean I will update. They wanted me to leave car as they seemed totally vexed by what source could be (not confidence instilling). They only work on jaguars and British cars. The owner seemed quite certain pre putting car on lift it was water pump. It was not. They took off the plastic shield under front of car (under engine ) and that’s when I saw rust. With shield on car seemed to be relatively rust free. Should I bother with rust proof does that process even make a difference at this point ?

 

so, not a dealer. and not able to discern what is the problem. hmmm.
I’d need a little more information and pics to be helpful. Otherwise, its a fishing expedition.

 

The large bush at the end of the banana shaped arm was definitely oil filled and leaking on my early XK.
As it was leaving the odd slop of oil on the drive.
I don’t know if later models were oil filled or other bushes are oil filled as well. The large bush I mention has been superseded a few times over time so later ones may not be oil filled.

 

XKR416
Almost certain you have a front suspension arm issue - the oil-filled rubber bush attached to the lower arm is leaking to be specific. Not a difficult job, but costly as you should have both sides replaced (the whole arm and not just the bushes) at the same time plus a wheel alignment. $AUS2400 all up. The oil is supposed to give a more subtle ride - it needs to be in the bush to do that. Options include after market (I went for genuine parts as extended warranty picked up the tab) or just having the bushes replaced. Fairly common at about 80,000kms or 40,000 miles I'm lead to believe.
Cheers
Jaryap
2012 XK Coupe

 

new arms are like 50 bucks it’s not even worth bothering.

they rarely leak out, usually the bigger bushing wears out the housing. the oil filled bushing on mine with 215k is still in good shape

 

xalty, hi
No issue. The leak is from the bush and eventually the oil goes and effects the ride, handling and you get tyre wear. And good luck that you got 215k without changing them bushes. I can only wish. Then, I've never owned a car with that many Kms. And I can't even think of any part on either of my Jags that you can buy for 50 bucks!
Cheers

 

miles, 350k in kilometers. most of the cars i work on have those arms in serviceable condition. uppers not so much

they came up in price a bit, eurospare is a JLR authorized aftermarket supplier

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Jaguar-...-127632-2357-0

 

I’m afraid I must agree…. what? “suitable” major part can I buy for $50? but performing due diligence I followed the link provided and got this response:

 

Yeah they aren't $50 but they are reasonable. We don't even know if the OP's issue is with the control arm and if it is, which one?

Here is the rearward
https://www.autohausaz.com/pn/18987_...IaAtgCEALw_wcB

Here is the banana arm
https://www.autohausaz.com/pn/29052_...waArp7EALw_wcB

 

the aftermarket banana arms are all the same, the only that's different is the x351. they built the same car for literally 20 years

i can go right now to the dealer and steal a 2022 f-type, swap every single suspension arm with my old s-type and then drop it back off.