XK Engine

[pixieporsche]

I understand every engine has it's own unique weak points but is the XK engine (especially talking about the 4.2) as fragile as some people seem to make out?

What should I watch for? I know any "tapping / ticking" sort of noise from the top end is usually bad news.

[pixieporsche]

Interesting, I've bee told the 4.2 is the weak one! Didn't they have to stagger the bores?

[pixieporsche]

I should have said from the outset I'm talking about the XK engine not the V8 engine fitted to the XK8.

Thank you all for your advice. What oil pressure should a 4.2 be running at when warm and idling?

ETA - question answered, thank you Jaguar Steve.

ETA2 - if the worst comes to the worst what sort of figure am I looking at to rebuild a 4.2? I've been told it's about a £4,000 job, is this correct?

Edited by pixieporsche on Monday 16th May 12:15

[pixieporsche]

Thank you all for the advice so far

I've managed to take from this that I ought to not bother with the 2.8. Glad to see that there are people taking some great projects on here, too!

I also feel a little more equiped in what to look for, too now. There seems some lovely Series I cars about at about £3500 at the moment. Perhaps I won't have to spend the earth to get a nice car. It's criminal really, a decent MGB is more coin ...

Anyway, not to complain it looks like I'll certainly beable to get myself into Jaguar ownership.

Rich, may I email you? I'm only just down the road and would love to see your cars and talk XJ6 with you.

[pixieporsche]

richw_82 said:

Sure, drop me an e-mail. The thingy on here should work, I've just checked it and it's correct and active.

It's a work one, so I'll only answer between 8am - 4pm.

Regards,

Rich

I've sent you an email. Please let me know if you don't get it - check your junk / spam! My email is a live.co.uk one and I think they are liable to get caught in spam filters!

[pixieporsche]

Steve, thank you for the advice

I've not driven a modern car in abour 3 years now and never want to again, I find them hateful things with no visibility! Running a P6 V8 I'm expecting around the same level of performance.

I'm not restricting myself to a Series 1 or a 4.2 but thats my ideal goal!

I look at car and classic frequently! Theres hardly anything on Jag ads - is that usually the place they come up?

[pixieporsche]

I like old cars - if it don't start in the morning, I'm not using that one, got others 1 out of 4 old cars should go ... Seriously though, I've ran old cars as my only means of transport for ages, never had any real bother and I can (have a go at) fixing them myself.

Nothing against the X300/308 they look nice just faaaaar too new for me!

I like cars with character. I like the fact that I have to start my P6 with the *exact* amount of choke or it won't like it, the MGB I have to "catch" with the throttle - it's a very simple car running a dynamo (sp?) crash first, no servo assisted brakes (still stops well though), the BV8 pretty much always behaves itself and the 944 cranks over for ages ... friends think they'll be walking home and then it fires!

They're all very different to drive too, the Rover is very relaxed but you have to be careful in the wet! The B Roadster feels old-fashioned, the BV8 is a joy for anyone who likes sports cars and the 944 is very heavy, quick and perfect for taking the B-Roads quickly!

Each one has a different character and I love that.