I have a 2000 XK8 that has been running hot for about a year. Because of a small leak I have been regularly adding coolant about once a week. The car often goes into ENGINE FAILSAFE MODE (right after TRAC NOT AVAIL & ABS NOT AVAIL lights come on, odd). Recently, my car overheated & i pulled over as soon as i saw smoke billowing from the hood. I had the car towed home and there it sat for 3 weeks. Friday, a mobile mechanic took a look and discovered a good sized hole in a pipe which is preventing the radiator from holding ANY fluid. When he started the engine it started to sputter, knock, & shake. There was also smoke coming out of the left exhaust pipe. Based solely on this, he stated that coolant was probably leaking into the engine & I had most likely blown the head gasket or cracked the block & should just write the car off. I've only owned it 2 years, just had a $1500 brake job and really can't afford to just junk it (70k miles). Is there any chance the engine is running so poorly simply because it had been sitting for so long & he ran it w/ no fluid whatsoever? At this point, I just don't know if I should still pursue replacing the damaged pipe if I'm just chasing my tail on a hope & a prayer. Any advice is welcome.

 

It's definitely repairable. I wouldn't junk it, even if the engine was trashed. Assuming it's a worst case scenario, you can get a used engine for about $1500, and installation will run you another $500 to $1000, but that's worst case. Maybe it's just a blown head gasket, in which case you're just looking at a few hundred dollars in labor. Failsafe mode is supposed to prevent major damage from overheating, but if you kept pushing it after it went into failsafe mode, there's a chance that it just got too hot and it will need an engine. Whatever you do it's going to cost money, and there's a chance that spending the money replacing the gasket still won't solve the problem.

But like I said, the worst case scenario is $2500 for a whole new (used) engine. Definitely worth repairing, especially with the recent brake job and only 70K on the odometer.

By the way... how did you spend $1500 on a brake job? Brand new rotors and pads all the way around should only cost half that, and at 70K you shouldn't need new rotors. Did you have it done at the Jag dealer? I'm sure their special Jag stuff is more expensive.

 

Ouch! my condolences. One common thread with the aluminum engines is they don't like to be overheated. Maybe Rev Sam will be willing to make a video on replacing the engine if you fly him to TX. Should have that baby swapped out in notime! Historical story.....I'm getting old enough to tell these....I bought a '69 E-type roadster in '73 for $3,000. Threw a rod racing a Mustang, trashed the block and head. Replacement motor was going to be $1,500 installed. Me a poor student, couldn't do it. Sold the car for 1500 to a guy who was going to install a chevy motor. Moral...I wish I could go back and redo that decision. Our XK8's may not be the next E-type, but........Only you know how much you have into the car and your own situation. There will be more expenses down the line.
Good luck.