XK8/R buyer's guide

[Cavallino]

Evenin' all,

I'm looking at moving from my PCP-financed X-Type to an aged XKR in about 6 months' time and so I'm collating together all the things I should look for. There's lots of useful info in the XK8/R section (1996-2005) but no central list of things to check, things that might go wrong, how much it could cost and where to get it done etc, so I thought it might be possible to collect things together in one thread. Then when we've exhausted our collective knowledge, we can create a new sticky post with it all in

So, for starters:

Transmission oil
Seems the best thing is to change it after about 60k-70k, even though it's supposed to be sealed for life. Esso LT 71141 oil must be used. Full details here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=33353

Pinking
Occasionally it seems the cars can pink a bit, particularly if only used on light load or if used on 95 RON fuel when used to using 98 RON. An ECU reset can sometimes cure this as it causes the ECU to re-learn (just like on my old Scooby... sigh..!) More details here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=33212

Sports exhaust
Want more V8 woofle/growl/roar? A number of after-market exhausts are available with varying degrees of loudness. Basically the more you replace (from the back end towards the engine), the louder it's likely to be. Some more info is here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=33212

Overheating
Early water pumps were made of rice paper (more-or-less) and are prone to losing all their blades, resulting in no water circulation and therefore little cooling. If you find the fans are coming on a lot and the temperature gauge suddenly heads into the red, it's time for a new pump. Definitely worth having it changed if it's more than ??? years old. It could also be the thermostat and it seems many people change both at the same time. More info in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=32350

LPG conversion
Is it really worth it? Sounds like if you have easy access to LPG filling stations and do more than around 10k miles per year and intend to keep your car for 3-4+ years, it may be. Not to be done to Nikasil-affected cars (if there are any left)!! Cost is around £2k or so. Lots of good advice and dealer recommendations here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=32165

Cam chain tensioners
The big one... Older cars are prone to the cam chain tensioners going, eventually resulting in the chain jumping a tooth with possible terminal engine damage. Later metal ones seem to be better but changing earlier plastic ones is definitely advised! The cost is around £800 for changing the top tensioners, £1500+ to change the whole lot (independent prices). More info here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=32113


Hope this is useful - all comments, corrections and embellishments greatly appreciated! For now I'm just including links to the topics, but I'd like to condense them into a single page when I get the time...

By the way I'm looking at a 2002 or maybe 2003 if I can get one...

Cheers
Richard

[Andy K]

your link to exhausts actually goes to pinking.

Good work though

[Cavallino]

Hi Andy,

Oops, many thanks! The correct link for sports exhausts is here:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=29694

Thanks!
Richard

[Vic_Tina]

Good work though

I agree, good work. Will be useful for others.

[P700DEE]

No reason not to convert a Nikasil lined engine to LPG and there are plenty left

[mervyncp]

Am I right in thinking that a Nikasil engine that survived the "sulphur in petrol" period without any damage is thought to be better that the later steel lined engines?

[mervyncp]

One really important thing missing from your list is the dreaded "tin worm".

Rust has been known to seriously attack the sills and floorpan.

A good friend of mine recently bought an immaculate '98 XK8 with about 80K on the clock. He took it to be "Dinitrolled" and was gutted when the garage discovered a large hole each side of the floorpan.

There is an excellent thread currently running which shows how bad things can be.

See here:- viewtopic.php?f=19&t=32592

[Cavallino]

Ah yes, Swampy's restoration project! Thanks for the link, I'll include it in the overall list.

Regarding the Nikasil thing... does anyone know of a good thread about it? I can find some for much older X300 (?) models and maybe S-types, but precious little for the XK8/R...

Cheers
Richard

[scm]

Your transmission oil only applies to the 5-speed ZF gearbox, the 6 speed takes Shell M1375.4. I'm not sure what the 5-speed Merc box in the Early XKRs takes.

[Cavallino]

Thanks SCM that's extremely helpful.

Forgive my (reducing!) ignorance - when did the 6 speed gearbox arrive? Which model year?

Thanks
Richard

[scm]

The 2003 model year was dubbed "The New Generation Jaguar XK", introducing the 4.2 engine, 6 speed ZF box on both n/a and s/c models, improved brakes, boot finisher above the number plate finished in body colour instead of chrome, new wheels, etc.

[McWizard]

This a great idea. Maybe somebody could do a similar piece for XJ8's.

[Cavallino]

I've now bought a gorgeous 2003 plate XKR convertible so I will coming back to update this and especially find out which bits apply to pre-2003 and which to 2003+ models...



Cheers
Richard

[scm]

Well done, I know you'll love it!