Jaguar XJ6 X300/X306 Head Gasket Change - How To

[@seamasrigh2162]

My 2007 Toyota Tacoma has an annoying leak where the timing chain cover meets the head (a mfg sealant failure) the rule of thumb is to watch it and if it gets really bad pull the timing chain cover and reseal. Best to wait until the timing chain needs to be changed ( about 200k mi) do it then. This tutorial, while abbreviated, was really informative and helpful. I'd like to get a'95 XJ 6 one day. Your insights are appreciated. Thank you.

[@Biggles]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@deandomino9657]

Mental. Absolutely mental the lengths you have to go through just because of a small rubber ring. I think I’d sooner just top it up with oil than to have to jump through all these hoops 😂 I’ll have to check my car now just to see if it has a leak in the same spot just out of curiosity. Amazing work though, seriously!

[@Biggles]

Your assessment of my state of mind taking this work on is accurate I’m afraid! Thanks for the comment. This is my “special” car, a mechanically restored and resprayed XJR6 factory manual. The car is so nice that the oil leak was somewhat letting the side down, so I always knew I would fix it. Very pleased with the results and while I was in there I managed to make the car run better by curing a tiny, but annoying, air leak. Christmas well spent!! Don’t forget I changed the clutch at the same time to rectify a faulty clutch plate, so there was so much more work on top of this.

[@deandomino9657]

@@Biggles to be honest, if there ever was an example to go through all this effort for, it would be for a factory manual car like you have here. I suppose in the pursuit of perfection, you have to pay close attention to even the smaller details like this. Honestly does look like a fantastic example and it makes me happy to see such caring owners of these cars like yourself. I have an XJR but it’s my daily driver and I have no place to really work on it but the street so I haven’t really had the opportunity to get really stuck into in-depth work like this. In no way do I feel skilled or confident enough to do so though but it would be nice to just give it a bash one day. I have a similar air leak issue on my car which whilst this doesn’t have too much effect on the running of the car, is definitely present and annoying. Maybe one day I’ll have the time to take it apart and investigate it properly, especially now that you’ve put this guide on here! Thank you for documenting this!

[@alexandrecouture2462]

Great video! I'm currently doing it on an XJ40. The intake is still a pain to remove, but it's less busy than on the XJR6!

[@Biggles]

Thanks!

[@94xjrgodown2]

Hey mate, I have a 94 XJR6 with the same issue. How many hrs did it take to replace the headgasket and get it running again? I need to take it to a Jag shop but dont want to get ripped off if they over estimate the labour costs. I dont trust mechanics to do the right thing labour costs wise sadly in this day and age.

[@Biggles]

I have encountered a similar problem. Many garages in the UK prefer not to do large jobs these days because of concerns over liability. The only route I could suggest is to find a known specialist who someone can recommend to you. Even then I've heard too many cases of the "reputable" garage subbing the work out to someone else. This leads to problems doing the job properly. Talking to some professional mechanics, there isn't enough money in fixing cars for an average garage anymore for the hassle it causes with customers. They prefer just to MOT test cars instead. This is why I do as many mechanical jobs myself as possible. The head gasket job was done over a weekend, but I did have the gearbox out at the same time, and it was my first time replacing the head gasket on one of these. It should be easily doable in a day by a professional. Note I was working in a cold, cramped garage, so not an ideal working environment. You really need that special tool to lock the cam shafts. A non-specialist mechanic will not have that tool.

[@94xjrgodown2]

@@Biggles I will let you know how I go!