XK8 Reliability

Something I'm interested in, as well. Timely!

IIRC - these Members . . .

2NA - [Tim] - Keeps Classic Jaguars classic
JaguarXJ6 - [Sunny] - Knows Jaguars from that era & specifies years to avoid.
SFChallenge - [Jon] - Has several Jaguars from that era & up

 

If the engine hasn't been updated, then you might be on borrowed time.
I would personally avoid '98 and '99 model year Jag V8s and look at 2000s and newer.

Aaron in Cincinnati is also a great resource. Just can't remember his screen name at the moment.

KevFla

 

The early models (through 99 I believe, but could be wrong) had problems with the nikasil cylinder liners failing. Obviously this is expensive if it happens. I believe there was a cam chain tensioner upgrade as well that is thought to be very important. I believe the later ones are supposed to be pretty solid. I really like these cars and they are a stunning amount of car for the dollar at their current values.

^^oops saw you beat me to it!

 

The upper tensioners are easy to upgrade,the lower less so. I think the Nikasil problem was related to the gasoline used,High alcohol?. My engine has 70,000 miles,no issues. The car is the most fun you can have for $10,000. And if it eventually breaks,spares are cheap,cheap,cheap.

 

Your Jag dealer has equipment to test for the Nikasil-problem. If it hasn't happened yet, it won't, IIRC, the problem was caused by sulphur-content of petrol then. Your dealer will also be able to tell you when exactly the cut-off date for the Nikasil engines was. In any case, most cars with these problems early on received replacement engines.

Timing chain tensioners: There are several re-iterations of the tensioners, if they were ever replaced, look at the date, the ones replacing the originals may have been superceeded also.

The last real problem I'm aware of is the auto-box: these were 'sealed for life' units, but it is certainly recommended to change fluid and filter every so often.

Early examples had issues with bumper-mountings corroding.

That's what springs to mind right now. Otherwise, they are great cars to drive, and you're lucky to live in a country where they practically give them away.

 

I had a 97 coupe that I absolutely loved. I bought it not knowing if it had the tensioners replaced, or the nickasil problem. I didnt care, as the car was in great shape and had a little over 100k miles on the odometer, it ran and drove fantastic. The nikasil problem affected mostly the UK cars as they had a higher sulfur content in their fuel back in the 90's and early 2000's. If the car wasnt driven for a long enough time, the sulfur would eat the nikasil lining and cause compression issues. The tensioners were a problem, but the early cars should have had them addressed by now, make sure there is documentation of it. Oh, the earlier cars I believe are a little lighter and sit a little lower than the 2000my and newer. The 97 with 18 inch wheels and sports tires was much more of a sports car than the 2000xkr that I have now, that car would stick corners so well it was scary. These cars can be an absolute steal. Other things to look for, front ball joint wear (jag parts can be as expensive as ferrari parts) and make sure transmission downshifts correctly, and doesnt throw a fault when you row through the J gate shifter. The ZF transmission should be serviced if more than 50k is on the odometer.
Good luck!!!

Jim

 

Yes. Bore issues were rife in uk, affected BMW engines at that time too!
Easy to spot potential problems; they really struggle to start from dead cold (compression drops low and improves with thermal expansion) and jag dealers do a "blow by" test to check for it. Also watch for intermittent abs/traction indicators on the dash, the abs units fail and this is an early sign. Total failure ends in the car going into "limp home", engine power cut massively and dash lights up like a Christmas tree!

 

My 2000 xk8 has 72,000 miles. What Ive changed(myself)-covert top hydraulic leak,Front oil seal,4 injectors, plugs. Otherwise routine maintenence. Engine strong. Bought the car used for 10,000 at 58,000 miles. Much less problems than my old jags which constantly broke down(back in 1971). For the money how can you lose? A fun to drive car ,disposable if something major goes wrong. Probable less than the cost of a full service on my 456.You can buy a used engine for $3000. Not worth doing a rebuild.I use it as a daily driver whenever the weather is bad and dont want to take out the ferrari,aston or porsche.

 

Sealed transmission, right?

 

That doesn't mean it can't be opened, and it should be serviced regularly to avoid problems.

 

Throttle body can go bad, actually a sensor goes bad and it is a complete unit. About $1600.

Changing the transmission fluid should be pretty easy
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL4ZhDlZAF4[/ame]

Mine had false ABS sensor failures, in the wet I would get the ABS light but it never failed to work properly.

 

Upgraded tensioners didn't come along until late 2001... my car missed it by about a month. Convertible top hydraulic lines will blow and need to be replaced but seems to be a one time fix. The ABS modules have solder connections that after 5years will vibrate loose. Easy fix. The auto tilt steering wheel will stop adjusting smoothly..another easy fix. Change the mass airflow sensor out to improve mileage. At least where i live, i don't see myself coming and going in traffic.. they only imported about 5,000 a year and were styled after the old Etypes. The newer ones are too harsh driving and dont look as nice plus have a ton of issues. 300hp and 22mpg in the city is not a bad deal.

 

The TV show Wheeler Dealers just aired an episode where they refurbished an XK8 with a bad throttle body. Ed China mentioned the factory part was about $1600, but he picked up a working used unit for $200. They showed him changing out the part and he said anyone thats handy with a good set of spanners can do the change out in about 15 minutes.

 

I have a hard time believing that the two sensors that were bad on the Wheeler Dealer car couldn't be swapped. I have read that before, basically if one of the sensors on the TB goes bad you have to swap the whole thing. Surely Jaguar isn't the only car those sensors were used on, my guess is there are millions of Fords running around Europe with those very same sensors on them. There are some parts in the XK8 actually makred Ford parts (seat controller being one I had out at one point).

It is surprising given the great cost of the XK8 TB and apparently not uncommon failure (mine had been replaced before I bought the car with 42k miles) someone, somewhere would have a solution.

 

I DVR'd that episode of the BRG Jag and it was a good one. Overall the cars seem pretty solid, especially the later ones.

 

The AJ26/27 V8s of the era are all in all, pretty durable. My own daily driver 2000 XJR has just over 216K on its original (Nikasil lined) engine and still gets me to the shop every day and can still outrun most poseurs who attempt a challenge

Definitely a worthwhile repair to just go ahead and sort the chains/guides and tensioners before anything nasty happens. You can buy the third-gen tensioners along with the chains and rails as a kit through the aftermarket, but you'll also need to get four different bolts for the new tensioners and timing cover gaskets as well as cam cover gaskets and just do the whole lot while you're in there.

Don't worry about high-mileage Nikasil engines. It's the low mileage, seldom driven cars that are the problem. If it's got 100K+ on it by now, you'll likely not have any problems with Nikasil. And yes, it was the high sulfur content of fuel back in the late '90s which did the damage---and particularly in the UK, not so much here in the Colonies.

If you want the peace of mind to have a steel-liner engine, then I believe the magic # is 008181034 (and above) which means August 18th 2000 at 10:34am the first steel liner engine was built.

Keep good, clean, preferably synthetic oil in it, change it every 5K and that engine will last a very long time. My own XJR is proof of that. At 216K miles, it's running on it's original chains as well, however myself and the PO have never missed a 5K service with Castrol full synthetic. Undoubtedly, this has assisted in the longevity of the chains and the plastic parts of the tensioners and guides.

As for the gearbox, the ZF is pretty durable, save for the front drum coming apart. These can indeed be overhauled and will be good as new. The 'R' models have the Mercedes 'box (722.6) and it's a pretty long-lived unit with only a few very well documented (and fixable) issues.

Good luck. You'll love it.

 

I knew the XKR used a Mercedes transmission but didn't realize it was the same as in my old ML500. That is a very easy unit to service, setting the fluid level takes a dipstick type tool rather than the messy procedure of overfilling and letting the excess run out as shown in the video for the XK8.

What transmission was it when they went to 6-speeds (2003?).

You get a lot of car for the money these days on an older XKR.
http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/3345610902.html
http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=65536&endYear=2006&startYear=1997&makeCode1=JAG&firstRecord=51&searchRadius=0&maxPrice=25000&bodyStyleCodes=COUPE&listingId=330474855&Log=0
http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/ctd/3357707396.html
http://miami.craigslist.org/pbc/ctd/3363866837.html

 

I believe the 6 speed unit is a ZF. The 97 tensioners were the worst bunch and they upgraded in 99 as well as 2000 but the final upgrade to the tensioner was I think the 2002 where no plastic was involved.

I do think the 97 is a car that seems to be more of a sports car though, as my 97 sat lower, seat positon seemed a little lower as well, and which allowed corners to be taken at a much higher rate than the 2000 xkr I have now. That 97 could take turns unbelievably well, so well that the 18" jag rim that was fitted would rub against the shock spring and shoot sparks out of the wheel well, what its like to see metal amber fly past the drivers window while in the middle of a 90degree right hand turn is pretty shocking. That car had a higher handling limit than my 308, which really surprised me. The 2000 XKR has smooth V12 type effortless power and torque which is fun to use wasting 99% of the other cars either on the highway or at stop lights.

Jim