jonny,

OK, not good. Mileage is not high, but the indications are that the bottom end is in a bad way, or your oil pump is kaput. Unfortunately the oil pump is the less likely of it or bearings.

Before doing anything else, do a compression test just to check out the state of the top end of the motor. Does it burn any oil? If so, you are probably up for a full rebuild.
Check: burning oil under load indicates worn rings, oil; smoke after deceleration indicates worn valve guides.

It sounds like the car has either not been properly serviced at some stage of its life, or someone has been playing 'ducks & drakes' with the speedo.

Check around, it may be cheaper to get a good second hand engine than to rebuild the old one, especially if you cannot do the strip down/rebuild yourself. Your car is also in the 'Nikasil' engine era, so a rebuild may not be an option, anyway. The compression check will tell you that. If the compressions are down, it cannot be rebuilt so just drive it quietly until you have the new engine lined up. Don't waste any money on repairs, it simply won't be worth it.

Engine numbers are a sequence of pairs. Year, month, day, hour, minute, seconds in that order. Anything prior to 200419------ is Nikasil.
Pull & service the gearbox at the same time, it will be cheaper in the long run.

Cheers,

Languid
p.s. no crime in not driving a Jag hard, they are also very pleasant to just enjoy within the legal limits.

 

p.p.s. Did I read somewhere that you had already done the tensioners? If so, keep them as they will be useable on the replacement engine. That and your new oil filter. I'm afraid that's about it, though.

Cheers,

Languid

 

There's probably a lot of forum members who don't remember nylons.
A sad day when tights came along. Oh the feeling of acheivement on getting to the bare flesh....
Momentary pause to remember the 60's, an old Morgan +4 and all those nurses........
Anyway, mustn't digress too much or I'll get smacked.
As Graham says the oil pump is an absolute bitch to get at.
I've clutched at the oil pump straw on several occasions but it was always the crank.
Has anyone EVER fixed low oil pressure by changing the pump? It's hard to imagine a better lubricated engine component !
I think Languid's right, particularly if you drive like a Nun. As I said earlier I've had tractors go for years with low oil pressure and without any suggestion of an agricultural side to our engines they are not exactly stressed at legal limits. It might go on for ages until a sensibly priced replacement turns up.
What happens to an automatic box if the engine seizes? Although you can't bump start with one they do provide engine braking.

 

Whilst researching the pros and cons of fluid changes, I came across the information from ZF that reverse can be selected at any forward speed without damage because the box inhibits actual selection above 7 mph. This suggests engine seizure with an auto box wouldn't be as dramatic as a manual transmission.

Haven't had the nerve to test this myself but if you're feeling at a loose end this morning you could give it a go.

Graham

 

@dx3
Have cross read the thread, so sorry if I mention something that has been said. When replacing the upper tensioners you also need shorter bolts, otherwise the tensioners could leak oil, which may contribute to the low pressure issue.

And since when do you actually have the issue?

 

Put it into reverse at walking speed - made the most God Awful grinding noise. Shall I send you the bill?
My wife did the same with a Dolomite Sprint auto at about 50 mph many years ago - the noise was the same but a lot louder.
Almost drowned my stream of invective.

 

Many years ago I had a Mazda (what was I thinking?) that was stolen by some crackheads. It was recovered (unfortunately) weeks later with a 150 cm hole in the side of the transmission. Mechanic said it was put in reverse while driving forward at a 'considerable' speed.

 

steveinfrance & WhiteXKR,

Always good to have anecdotal evidence. I shan't be putting the ZF claim into practice!

Graham

 

Yo! I do know someone (a lovely young woman whose husband was a wife beating "B") who did that also in a Dolomite Sprint at 60kph in a MElbourne street once. By the time the car came to a stop most of the gearbox was on the road behind it. And I also recall someone doing that in an XJ6 back in the Borg Warner 3 speed days (they would do as you told them back then) at 100kph on a freeway. Fairly spectacular.
Actually, at least back then, you could 'roll start' an auto - a '68 Bentley needed to be up to about 40kph to achieve 'lock-up' to do it. Once it started, the brakes would then work, which was fortunate as the end of the street was well in sight, and beyond the barrier was the sea.
But no, if the fan stops, an auto gearbox will just heave a sigh and wait for you to provide with power again. Manuals' would drag the chain a bit if the clutch didn't tear up, but autos' don't really care that much.

Cheers,

Languid

 

How strange - must be something about Dolomites! It was a nice car before that happened.
From what you say at least the OP won't wreck anything else if his engine does weld itself up.

 

Dolomite? Hmmmm....must be one of those RHD user terms. Kinda like vegemite?

 

That's right, sort of fast vegemite

 

Only some of them were fast.

 

What's this - a DemiGod slagging off a Dolly Sprint?
This won't do - I will PM the Supreme Being immediately.
What's his name again?

 

i posted earlier that low oil pressure and check engine warning light were the last straw, after putting 7500 into timing chain etc. i noticed that a lot of the guys writing about the low pressure reading mentioned they had just had work done on their tensioners. i just came in from disconnecting my battery, for a couple of minutes. the check engine light was off, and my windows started working properly, and my am radio static was much improved. will find out about oil pressure when i drive the car tomorrow. why not try it.