98 XJ8 - engine change
Discussion
Well I'm back again, not selling the car now. Seems the Cat has gone so having it replaced along with some other bits (rear shocks, front bearings etc).
I will probably be looking to have a replacement engine at some stage, does anyone know if I can put the 4.0 into the 3.248? Is the gearbox compatible for a straight swap? Also, what about the 4.0 supercharged version, will this go in without too much fuss?
I will probably be looking to have a replacement engine at some stage, does anyone know if I can put the 4.0 into the 3.248? Is the gearbox compatible for a straight swap? Also, what about the 4.0 supercharged version, will this go in without too much fuss?
I cannot say from prctical experience, but a 4.0L should physically fit in but will probably need a myriad of changes to ancilaries etc. the greater difficulty I suspect will be with the Engine Management system, possible with wiring but almost certainly with the software map loaded.
The same would apply to a 4.0LSupercharged engine but you would have the added difficulty in having to change the gearbox as well. XJR V8's use a Mercedes box I believe, other versions a ZF unit. As the 'boxes are also managed electronically, you may have quite a problem.
I would suggest changing the engine for the same unit and then consider tweaking it for performance. These may be a mix of ancillary unit changes and an update to the ECU by a reputable company.
The same would apply to a 4.0LSupercharged engine but you would have the added difficulty in having to change the gearbox as well. XJR V8's use a Mercedes box I believe, other versions a ZF unit. As the 'boxes are also managed electronically, you may have quite a problem.
I would suggest changing the engine for the same unit and then consider tweaking it for performance. These may be a mix of ancillary unit changes and an update to the ECU by a reputable company.
I have been offered the job all done including the engine for £2,500 by a jag specialist, problem is that I will still have a '98 car and I'm wondering if I'll get anything like my money back if I want to sell (the car was £2,500). The body is excellent and I'm having the cat done with replacement rear shocks too, so it will be sound (I hope) the car has done 105,000. Bit of a quandry really, do I sell it and buy another?
I'd be tempted to get rid of it.
OK so you're not likley to loose much more in depreciation, and as it's a pre 2001 car you are not being caned quite so much for road tax either now or hopefully in the future, but none the less you only have to look at the price of spare parts and labour to see what a money pit an older XJ can easily turn into.
Sure if it's really good one and you love it to bits, then it's maybe worth hanging on and spending a little here and there to keep it going, but if you have doubts about the engine, and are considering a swap with all the major expense that involves then why bother? You could potentially fit a secondhand engine, and have the timing chain tensioners fail, or the gearbox pack up, or the diff disintigrate within weeks.
V8 XJ's are not as durable as the earlier models and the common problems are well documented.
Have a look in the classifieds if you want another one - every time there's a increase in the cost of petrol or road tax hundreds come up for sale, PH has over 100 on at the moment. Autotrader is flooded with them.
IMO the best way to run an old XJ is to do all the maintainance yourself if you can, drive it carefully, be very aware of potential problems and prepared to get rid of it at a moment's notice, and run a s
tter for daily use, giving you the time to stop and carefully think about what to do if there's a problem loomimg, rather than being forced into urgent repairs 'cos you need transport.
This is what I do with mine. It's younger than yours and has done less miles, but still has cost me over £2000 - with Trade discount - in the last 15000 miles in parts alone - not with any significant problems, but just servicing consumables, preventative maintainence and minor failures.
I'm not counting all the hundreds of hours I've spent working on it, it's a labour of love.
Mrs JS thinks I'm quite mad.
To put it all in perspective we recently worked out how scary the economics my enthusiam for owning a sucession of Jaguars has been over the last 20 years - all run as second or third cars - it's cost as much as a nice villa in Spain, or a very significant pension fund.
OK so you're not likley to loose much more in depreciation, and as it's a pre 2001 car you are not being caned quite so much for road tax either now or hopefully in the future, but none the less you only have to look at the price of spare parts and labour to see what a money pit an older XJ can easily turn into.
Sure if it's really good one and you love it to bits, then it's maybe worth hanging on and spending a little here and there to keep it going, but if you have doubts about the engine, and are considering a swap with all the major expense that involves then why bother? You could potentially fit a secondhand engine, and have the timing chain tensioners fail, or the gearbox pack up, or the diff disintigrate within weeks.
V8 XJ's are not as durable as the earlier models and the common problems are well documented.
Have a look in the classifieds if you want another one - every time there's a increase in the cost of petrol or road tax hundreds come up for sale, PH has over 100 on at the moment. Autotrader is flooded with them.
IMO the best way to run an old XJ is to do all the maintainance yourself if you can, drive it carefully, be very aware of potential problems and prepared to get rid of it at a moment's notice, and run a s
tter for daily use, giving you the time to stop and carefully think about what to do if there's a problem loomimg, rather than being forced into urgent repairs 'cos you need transport.This is what I do with mine. It's younger than yours and has done less miles, but still has cost me over £2000 - with Trade discount - in the last 15000 miles in parts alone - not with any significant problems, but just servicing consumables, preventative maintainence and minor failures.
I'm not counting all the hundreds of hours I've spent working on it, it's a labour of love.
Mrs JS thinks I'm quite mad.
To put it all in perspective we recently worked out how scary the economics my enthusiam for owning a sucession of Jaguars has been over the last 20 years - all run as second or third cars - it's cost as much as a nice villa in Spain, or a very significant pension fund.
Why not have a look at the last of the 6 cyl ones - the X300 model?
These are generally more reliable and don't suffer from all the expensive faults the V8's do.
You could buy a very good one for a couple of thousand, spend a few quid on servicing and having all the fluids changed and sorting out any minor problems and you'd have a nice XJ without all the potential grief and expense.
My X300, whilst admittedly not as quick or as nice to drive as my current V8 (both 3.2 litre) cost me far, far less to run overall. The only problem I had was a coolant leak from the head gasket, which took less than a day to fix. Fuel consumption was about the same, spares are cheaper and they are much easier to work on, which is important if you're paying somebody else to do the work.
If you don't do many miles you might even get one on a Classic insurance policy.
These are generally more reliable and don't suffer from all the expensive faults the V8's do.
You could buy a very good one for a couple of thousand, spend a few quid on servicing and having all the fluids changed and sorting out any minor problems and you'd have a nice XJ without all the potential grief and expense.
My X300, whilst admittedly not as quick or as nice to drive as my current V8 (both 3.2 litre) cost me far, far less to run overall. The only problem I had was a coolant leak from the head gasket, which took less than a day to fix. Fuel consumption was about the same, spares are cheaper and they are much easier to work on, which is important if you're paying somebody else to do the work.
If you don't do many miles you might even get one on a Classic insurance policy.
Jaguar steve said:
Why not have a look at the last of the 6 cyl ones - the X300 model?
These are generally more reliable and don't suffer from all the expensive faults the V8's do.
You could buy a very good one for a couple of thousand, spend a few quid on servicing and having all the fluids changed and sorting out any minor problems and you'd have a nice XJ without all the potential grief and expense.
My X300, whilst admittedly not as quick or as nice to drive as my current V8 (both 3.2 litre) cost me far, far less to run overall. The only problem I had was a coolant leak from the head gasket, which took less than a day to fix. Fuel consumption was about the same, spares are cheaper and they are much easier to work on, which is important if you're paying somebody else to do the work.
If you don't do many miles you might even get one on a Classic insurance policy.
It's the V8 that I'd miss! Going down the American route - buying a Z28 95 Camaro 5.7! These are generally more reliable and don't suffer from all the expensive faults the V8's do.
You could buy a very good one for a couple of thousand, spend a few quid on servicing and having all the fluids changed and sorting out any minor problems and you'd have a nice XJ without all the potential grief and expense.
My X300, whilst admittedly not as quick or as nice to drive as my current V8 (both 3.2 litre) cost me far, far less to run overall. The only problem I had was a coolant leak from the head gasket, which took less than a day to fix. Fuel consumption was about the same, spares are cheaper and they are much easier to work on, which is important if you're paying somebody else to do the work.
If you don't do many miles you might even get one on a Classic insurance policy.
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