Jaguar Forum banner

Oil?? Leak between rear wheels

5K views 36 replies 14 participants last post by  rayaans 
#1 ·
2015 XE-S with what appears to be oil from between the rear wheels. I'm currently on 53k miles!

Definitely oil as it becomes a rainbow when pouring water on it and smells a bit funny. it's about 15x20cm wide. Never noticed it before mind. First time today when I moved the car to wash it.

Any idea what this could be? And if so any estimated repair costs as the car isn't under warranty
 
#2 ·
If it smells funny, would you say sulphurous? Only oil at the back is the differential?
 
#5 ·
Starting point should be the brake fluid reservoir. Give it a check.
But it does sound like diff' oil.

Sent from my SM-G977B using Tapatalk
 
#10 ·
Just take it somewhere to be diagnosed and fixed. If it's diff oil, fixing the leak will be substantially cheaper than a new diff if you continue to use it with reducing oil content.
 
#11 ·
Got under it today. Its definitely coming from the diff. Its basically travelled to the lowest part of the diff and dripped from there. No splashes anywhere else I can see so appears to do it mainly on standstill.

Ill get it booked into my jag indy although i suspect itll be atleast 2 weeks before I get in.
 
#12 ·
Keep an eye on the amount if it increases at all don't drive the car. Just because you see a drip coming from the lowest point on the diff doesn't mean it has to be the diff. As said above check the brake fluid before you drive the car. If you see a drip under the car if it has only been stood for say less than 10 mins I would not drive it far at all. Diff oil does smell odd.
 
#13 ·
Seems to be the same so far. Im doing about 1000 miles a month at the minute and its my only car so a bit tricky. My indy is fully booked until March 23rd. Brake fluid seems OK.

Any idea on cost of changing this seal.... if it is the seal that is.
 
#14 ·
If your brake fluid is ok then good. As you said probably the diff. If it is a seal don't worry too much, but as you said you have it booked in for an inspection so should be a known problem and not too serious but needs a repair. Keep an eye on the loss.
 
#15 ·
The only issue with diff seals is that dealers and even some indy's will want to replace the whole diff. It's often not worth thier time stripping them to change seals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: FCS
#16 · (Edited)
My Indy is happy to change the seal. He says the last one they did was on a Range Rover Sport and that was fine.

I have called the dealer who said they'll quote a repair of the seal as they think it's probably that too

Anyone have idea of cost to replace the seal? Just want to make sure they're not completely taking me as a fool! Will be ringing up a few dealers as I have loads local to me to be fair.
 
#19 ·
There's 3 seals on a typical diff, 1 input and the 2 output flange seals. The output flange seals shouldn't be particularly difficult to change but the input can be, depending on the diff design, some have crush washers to set the gear lash. No idea on this diff though. Does the XE-S have a locking rear diff? If so then there's more on it where oil could leak such as the motor to diff joint.
 
#21 ·
It's one of those things, bits on cars break. Unusual on a Jag diff but there you go, such is life. Fingers crossed it's an easy enough and relatively inexpensive repair.
 
#24 ·
If you have to drive the car before it can be fixed, why not get the fluid topped up & avoid the risk of damaging the diff?
 
  • Like
Reactions: MyIRRCat and Sdotk
#25 ·
This happened to me a couple of years back.
As the car was under warranty, Jaguar paid for a new diff.
185039
 
#29 ·
Ive been keeping an eye on how much is coming out. Bear in mind i saw a 20x20cm oily puddle on the floor in the driveway. TBF I had driven it properly hard for 20-30 minutes on some roads near Ripponden.

Since then, Ive had some cardboard down and it leaks about 2-3 drops every night. Short journeys usually 1 drop. Did a 30 mile trip yesterday and it leaked 3 drops.

Either way, the Jag indy said he'd do it, but he said its better off if I go to the main dealer to have it done because if the seals not sitting right it can trash the diff and hes heard some issues with F-types doing this.

Phone call to main dealer - £700 to sort it out. Phoned another few and its between £700 - £900. Bear in mind Ive also just spent £600 doing a headlight. Long story short, car has been traded in and ive taken a hit but hopefully I can sleep better at night. The car feels special but the main problem for me is I simply dont have time to be going up and down to the mechanic all the time.

Ive had it for 6 months and ive spent maybe £1500 on her so the boss (fiance) isnt happy.
 
#33 ·
Either way, the Jag indy said he'd do it, but he said its better off if I go to the main dealer to have it done because if the seals not sitting right it can trash the diff and hes heard some issues with F-types doing this.
So the indi said he'd do it, but reluctantly, saying he'd maybe make a mess of the job? Not a very good indi then! The output seals just push in, any motor garage could do that. The input shaft seal maybe more difficult but it's all in the workshop manual. Working on a diff isn't difficult, easy enough to fully remove and work on the bench too, if required. Such a shame he's put you off ownership culminating on you parting with the car.

Makes me appreciate even more being in a position to work on my own cars with several that can be used if one is under repair.
 
#30 ·
I can kind of understand your decision in some ways, but I've found that they're not more unreliable than any other car.

The difference can often be that parts can be more expensive depending on what you need.

There's nothing to say you couldn't have had a few years of trouble free motoring (like the next owner will have at your expense).
 
  • Like
Reactions: XFBangkok
#34 · (Edited)
I can kind of understand your decision in some ways, but I've found that they're not more unreliable than any other car.

The difference can often be that parts can be more expensive depending on what you need.

There's nothing to say you couldn't have had a few years of trouble free motoring (like the next owner will have at your expense).
Unfortunately every proper car has troubles. Smaller cars can even run without an engine oil or many other parts for quite some time. A complete running engine on some of them might cost as much as a bill for diagnosis by a JLR specialist.
I suppose that's true. It might be completely fault free after this. Having said that it's been having "unusual" problems for an XE. Like a headlight motor issue and a diff leak at 52k. I realise the F-type suffer from these but not heard of XE S having a diff seal leak past about 20k miles.

The other issue is I use the car for work. I'm doing 250 miles a week even through lockdown and barely have any spare time to have issues fixed. My work times are awkward 3-12am, 8-3pm and night shifts so not exactly ideal.

I've had a couple of VAG cars and a Merc which was running fine at 77k miles which I traded in for the Jag and they didn't have anything major happen to them at all. Bear in mind all of them were running modifications too. The Jag has been more of a headache than them all in 6 months of ownership.

I suspect id be happier with a warranty on the car. The problem is the aftermarket ones are shite and Jag were just messing me about with putting a manufacturer warranty on it.

So in conclusion, it's a combination of unusual issues cropping up which are rather expensive, the dealers giving me a runaround when I try to put a warranty on it months ago and personal factors.

The car is amazing to drive. The XE-S definitely has a personality but the interior isn't the best quality wise and I haven't been able to use the performance as much as I would like. I absolutely love the car but it's just got to the point where it's starting to do my head in.
 
#36 ·
I suspect they're either using rubbish/cheap quality or even the wrong seals. I've known single lip seals not fit properly where a double lip seal of the same "size" should have, or previously have been fitted.

The other thing that would cause this is poor refitting/misalignment of the diff which would put strain on one part of the diff.

There's no reason why some cars should be fine and others not unless they're not doing something right themselves.
 
#37 ·
I suspect they're either using rubbish/cheap quality or even the wrong seals. I've known single lip seals not fit properly where a double lip seal of the same "size" should have, or previously have been fitted.

The other thing that would cause this is poor refitting/misalignment of the diff which would put strain on one part of the diff.

There's no reason why some cars should be fine and others not unless they're not doing something right themselves.
They just use the genuine part from JLR. Apparently an updated item compared to the previous versions
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top