Interesting article on early AJ133 V8 engine failure.

BONUS: The article uses post from this forum!

https://www.theautopian.com/heres-wh...five-liter-v8/

 

Wow. That is sobering

 

This hardly effects us X152 owners. Perhaps just a very few with the earliest type Rs . By 2015, Jag had updated the whole timing chain loop. I'd be more concernned with the older plastic welded cooling pipes. Besides, the solution for this is frequent oil changes, something we're all probably doing already anyway.

 

Building the maintenance costs of well known and documented failure points into your budget is "crazy" ?? 🙄 I factored the price of the aluminium cooling pipes into my XE's purchase. I did my homework, knew what I was getting, and made my decisions accordingly. If I couldn't afford the pipe job, I wouldn't have bought the car. Not exactly rocket surgery.

 

Yep, JLR updated most of the timing chain components - chains, tensioners, chain guides, sprockets etc - in the AJ133 in 2012 before the first F-Type ever came out and a few years later made some more improvements although I have never been able to pin down exactly what and when. Then some time around 2018 (again hard to pin down exactly when) the infamous spring loaded SC coupler/torsion isolator was updated and improved such that the spring no longer eats the plastic housing.
So only the very earliest V8 F-Types may still have any timing chain or coupler issues.

 

This thread severely dented my enthusiasm for a V8 F Type. I was going to drop my Audi S5 and replace it with an F Type. But I am already taking enough risk with two late model Alfa Romeos. Budgeting for failure. Wow

I still want one, but a bit less now.

 

Jaguar V8s are pretty robust if maintained properly - I've had a 4.0 XK8 at over 60,00- miles, and 4.2 XKR which got to over 90,000. The 4.2 burst an oil pipe and dumped the oil all over the road but when the pipe was replaced and the oil refilled it ran sweet as a nut. Oil change after 500 miles to check but it was fine. So you don't need to worry unless you're very unlucky, and if you're driving an Audi you can't be!

 

If you buy a used car expecting nothing to go wrong, you're gonna have a bad time.

If you don't know how to budget for maintenance, buy a new car with a warranty and a service package.

Easy.