I have owned the car for 1 1/2 years. I was stuck in interstate traffic and
got a low coolant light and then the temperature started to climb. No shoulder due to construction. By the time I could exit, the damage was
done. The car runs, no coolant in the oil, but lots of white exhaust smoke that smells like anti freeze.

All the repair options I have found are much more than the car is worth.
I am tempted to get a 2001-2003 XJ8 or XK8. How much more difficult is
it to maintain one with a supercharger? Would my 1998 XJ8 VDP make a
good parts car for a 2001-2003 XJR? I know the XJR may have different
brakes on it. Except for the engine, my car is in great mechanical condition. (All new brake rotors, rebuilt transmission, new tires.....).

How does XK8 reliability compare to the XJ8? Thanks for everyones
advice. They ARE fun cars to drive.

 

Welcome to the forum Lear45,

Good to have you with us.
That's a lot of questions, I'm not sure where to direct your post, you should probably see what the X308 guys have to say about your existing car XJ ( X308 ) XJ8 / XJR - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum and move on from there.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't already done so you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.

 

Welcome to the forum Lear45,

Follow Norri's link to the X308 section for help and advice on your VDP.

As you are considering an XK8 as a replacement, follow this link XK8 / XKR - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the XK8/XKR section for information.

I've owned and run both XJ8 and XK8. The XK8 is more fun to drive but the rear seats are for decoration only! If you need a four seater, it's not for you.

Enjoy the forum.

Graham

 

Welcome to this friendly Forum.
Sorry about your tale of woe - sounds as if the head gasket has gone.
I think, as Norri says, start by posting a copy of your intro in the XJ section and see what advice you get.

 

Hi & welcome aboard, Its good to have you here with us here at Jaguarforums.

Any useful site information you may need such as how to post pictures, edit signatures, add videos, use the search facility etc, can be found here
within the following link Helpful_information


Please also take the time to check out the regional section for your area!
There are lots of members local to you with the same interests with info on local dealers and possible meets.
Regional - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

I've manually upgraded you to full forum access so you can better view the whole site and all its features.

Please Jump on in and enjoy the site.................

 

I just wanted to update. Since I like the car and everything else is in good shape, I decided to replace the motor with one from a wrecked 97 XK8 with 56,000 miles on it.
$2,650. $1,400 to have it installed. The car now has about 1,000 miles on the new motor.

 

Thanks for the update. it's always interesting to hear the decision process and outcome after a major incident like an engine failure.

A $4K repair is a big hit but with everything else in good shape, you should have many thousands of miles reliable motoring ahead of you.

Good luck.

Graham

 

Thanks for the update. Good to hear a happy ending! (Or new beginning!)

 

welcome to the forums, enjoy the fresh motor

 

Always good to get an update.....thanks