A mechanic has said that he managed to save a customer’s Jaguar from a potential major failure after he noticed something wrong with a part he had ordered from a Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) dealership. What made the situation worse was that the part in question had been ordered as brand new, not second-hand.
The mechanic who goes by @moparbob79 on TikTok filmed the video at his workbench, and he had ordered a brand-new coolant pipe for a customer’s car. While inspecting the ‘new’ part, he discovered loads of loose metal shavings inside the pipe, which could have been disastrous for the customer.
The video quickly went viral, rapidly racking in over 1.4 million views, with the comment section full of other people saying this is something they see quite regularly. That is worrying for those who have sent a car into a workshop or garage for repairs.
The mechanic did not hold back in his views of the situation, with quite a few expletives showcasing the frustration he had. He also added additional information in the comments section, giving us a clear overview of what happened and how he noticed the debris in the pipe.
How the Debris Was Noticed in the Land Rover Part
@moparbob79♬ original sound – moparbob79
The part in question was a front coolant crossover pipe, used on one of the Jaguar Land Rover supercharged engines. In this instance, the part was stamped Land Rover, but it was going into a Jaguar, as the two companies share hardware with each other. All looked fine when the part arrived, nicely sealed in a clear plastic bag.
It was after the part came out of the bag that the mechanic noticed something was wrong. “Look at this crazy [expletive], hold on, brand new part from the dealer,” he said in the video. After the shavings in the part came free, he added, “Oh my god, brand new part. Good thing we looked before we put it on.” The silver flakes were machining swarf, left behind in the pipe when it was cut.
Checking parts over before putting them in a car, even if they are labelled as new, is always a good idea. There is a small chance even new parts are defective, but you don’t expect to find small pieces of debris in parts the dealership or factory should have noticed themselves. As you can deduce, metal shavings in any car part are not something you want going into an engine.
Why the Metal Shavings Could Have Caused Serious Damage
The loose metal parts, as we see in the video, can easily move around when inside a part. When installed, the debris can move around and start to damage parts. It can score bearings and even jam pumps as well as coolant passages. Had the part gone onto the Jaguar, it would only have taken minutes for the shavings to start circulating.
If pipes are blocked or jammed, or bearings scored, it can lead to all sorts of problems. In a worst-case scenario, engines can overheat and even fail if the metal does enough damage. The flicks of metal in the part were quite large, and the amount of damage they can do is potentially huge. In this instance, it was a good job that the mechanic took a closer look at the pipe before fitting it to the Jaguar.
These Pipes Are Notorious Weak Points on Jaguar Land Rover Engines
The part in question is actually a known weak point on these Jaguar Land Rover engines. According to a technical service bulletin from JLR, these pipes can fail and lead to a coolant leak from the engine compartment. The bulletin covered the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 and the 5.0-liter V8 F-Type, XF and XJ vehicles.
JLR itself stated what it felt was the blame in the bulletin. “Weakness in the plastic weld process of the coolant pipes,” it said. The new metal pipe going into this Jaguar is much sturdier than the plastic that is listed as failing in the bulletin. However, that extra sturdiness would have counted for nothing had the part been fitted and started to cause major damage to the Jaguar.