Engine failed

Nickleback · Post by **Nickleback** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 9:14 am

Well it happened, suddenly lost some oil pressure on the M25 and managed to get off the motorway & get the car to Angus @ Moss Jaguar. Car seemed to be running fine ?
Initially thought that it was a faulty oil pressure gauge but soon confirmed that is wasn't so decided to drop the sump and this is what we found

Then investigated further and found what had happened to the oil pump.

Then the crankshaft,

Turns out that, the crankshaft thrust washers had been fitted the wrong way around, had broken up and been eaten by the oil pump !

Smashed oil pump :(

Turns out that when the car was rebuilt in America before I bought it, the engine had been rebuilt with the crankshaft thrust washers fitted the wrong way around.

End result is we still don't know for sure what other damage has been done to the rest of the engine till it's stripped, so have decided to send it for a full rebuild with CMES, so will let you know what they find out in a few weeks time ?

SEJohnson95 · Post by **SEJohnson95** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 9:19 am

That is indeed most unfortunate Mike. I'm no expert at putting engines back together but I would certainly be having words with whomever rebuilt that engine in the US!

Nickleback · Post by **Nickleback** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 9:27 am

SEJohnson95 wrote:That is indeed most unfortunate Mike. I'm no expert at putting engines back together but I would certainly be having words with whomever rebuilt that engine in the US!

No record, no history, no paperwork - no trace possible, just one of those things, engine ran sweetly and passed all the std tests when purchased.

Moeregaard · Post by **Moeregaard** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 2:52 pm

Very sad to see this. Unfortunately, we've had a lot of "British car specialists" on this side of the pond, who shouldn't be trusted to work on your lawn mower. From what I can see in your photos, the main journal appears undamaged and most of the thrust-washer bits seem to be accounted for. Hopefully, the damage is minimal.

chrisfell · Post by **chrisfell** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 4:16 pm

Moeregaard wrote:Very sad to see this. Unfortunately, we've had a lot of "British car specialists" on this side of the pond, who shouldn't be trusted to work on your lawn mower. From what I can see in your photos, the main journal appears undamaged and most of the thrust-washer bits seem to be accounted for. Hopefully, the damage is minimal.

Not just there, also here. My engne was 're-built' by a former retailer of ....er.... Anyway, I heard a thump under the bonnet at high speed (motorway). Pulled over and found nothing obviously amiss. However, the oil pressure was a bit low.

Found bits of swarf in the oil filter at the next oil change. Dropped the sump to find bits of split pin in the sump. Oil pump was damaged and replaced.

Under size split pins had been used in the big ends. After a while they rattled loose and fractured. I found another three loose pins as well as the ones that had already failed.

Fortunately for me the cost was minimal - a new oil pump, a gasket and a few split pins, but it could have been worse.....

Nickleback · Post by **Nickleback** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 4:55 pm

chrisfell wrote: Fortunately for me the cost was minimal - a new oil pump, a gasket and a few split pins, but it could have been worse.....

You were very lucky to get away with minimum cost, unfortunately mine has damaged the crank which will need replacement or building up & re-grinding, hence going for a re-build as I need to check what else has happened. :(

mark10337 · Post by **mark10337** » Sat Apr 23, 2016 8:59 pm

Ouch. Really feel your pain there. Fortunately you seem to be in good hands now and I hope everything will turn out well.

Durango2k · Post by **Durango2k** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 6:58 am

In my case my car had no air filter. And I found 2 handfull of sand ! In the sump. And the prim chain tensioner was broken of and in the sump, the socket had tram rails 3 mm deep. Pistons worn, oil pump worn, bearings worn, engine was oily like James Dean in "Giants".

Carsten

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 8:30 am

Why do you say the thrust washers were eaten by the oil pump, when they are in full view intact and too big to reach it?

Durango2k · Post by **Durango2k** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 9:05 am

What about "mounted wrong way round", thus "oil starvation on their surface", then "they became too thin", then "they became mangled free", so then "they became sucked into the pump" - but why is there no sieve ?

Carsten

Nickleback · Post by **Nickleback** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:50 am

PeterCrespin wrote:Why do you say the thrust washers were eaten by the oil pump, when they are in full view intact and too big to reach it?

Hi Pete,
"Don't shoot the messenger" as I am no expert, but this is what I was informed off by your & my good friend Mr A - probably best if he answers your point.

Post by **1954Etype** » Sun Apr 24, 2016 2:38 pm

Initial thoughts were part of the thrust washers had broken off. Following a close look, it clearly wasn't the case. Now waiting for CME to report back on what they find as l can't explain wgat went through the pump.

PeterCrespin · Post by **PeterCrespin** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 2:00 am

Don't recognise the big end nuts. They aren't castellated and aren't 12-point XJ (which is what I use). Typically the pumps swallow pieces of badly-fitted splt pins but these don't seem drilled for pins and the damage seems a bit extreme. Maybe a stray washer. So this was a commercially rebuilt engine rather than DIY?

I'd be very durprised if any pro fitted thrust washers steel-to-crank but who knows?

Nickleback · Post by **Nickleback** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 6:13 am

We don't know who rebuilt the engine (commercial or DIY) or if indeed it had been completely rebuilt, but it ran well when purchased in 2014 and has only done 2500 miles since being imported to the UK
All we know was that the engine (by speedo reading if correct) appears to have done 99,000 miles ?
So you think that the bottom end has had work and is not factory original from the pictures ?

64etype · Post by **64etype** » Mon Apr 25, 2016 11:35 am

Nickleback wrote: So you think that the bottom end has had work and is not factory original from the pictures ?

The locking tab on the distributer drive gear nut looks a little ragged around the edges suggesting that it was bent back, removed and then reused. Difficult to tell from the photos, but it looks like the locking tabs on the mains were reused as well....a potential source for a stray, broken bit of metal. Finally, the oil pump looks like a replacement.

Nickleback · Post by **Nickleback** » Tue Apr 26, 2016 9:10 pm

Doesn't fill me with confidence as to how that engine has been worked on previously ?

64etype · Post by **64etype** » Wed May 04, 2016 2:29 pm

Any new clues as to what caused the failure?

Nickleback · Post by **Nickleback** » Wed May 11, 2016 9:25 pm

Well an update from the engine rebuilder's shows that now the engine is stripped there is damage to the bore liner where the crank has moved after the thrust washers came out and a slight weep from the head gasket which is clearly not connected to the oil pump destroying it's self.
Engine will now be fully rebuilt and should be back in about 5 weeks

Post by **1954Etype** » Wed May 11, 2016 9:56 pm

Sorry Mike, l couldn't have explained it properly. The crank is removed, the bearind caps fitted and then line bored to ensure everything is true and straight. Something could have gone out of alignment when the thrust washers fell out.

Herzeg · Post by **Herzeg** » Fri May 13, 2016 10:06 pm

Trouble is, we buy cars that are almost as old as us, but with no history. Mine was allegedly (according to an entry on xkedata.com) completely rebuilt in the nineties but is looking pretty much untouched. What's new, what's not? It says 76k miles on the speedo but is it true?

Hope it doesn't cost you too much

John

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