Hello, new member here from Vancouver BC. I bought one of the first XKR's in Feb 2000 (yes it has the 4.0L Nikasil engine). It's a black coupe, and I had to wait 4 months for it after ordering. It was originally destined for a dealership in Halifax NS but was sent to me after I paid the deposit.

I love this car and intend to keep it as long as feasible. I don't commute to work and its km's are mostly highway (162000km so far). It has been maintained by the dealer here (MCL Motors) and I have only good things to say about them. Sure it's somewhat expensive but I knew that going in. I don't have the facilities or experience to maintain it myself. As a university student, I once owned a 1972 Toyota Corolla and did all the maintenance on that for years, but it was easier then. That was an EMP proof car!

Aside from expected things like regular service, brakes, tires and batteries etc, my only significant expense so far has been a replacement of the timing chains and two coils a couple of years ago. That made all the difference and if it's not running like new, I cannot tell the difference. If it costs me $3k per year to maintain it in tip-top shape, then this is WAY cheaper than buying a new one. Which I will cheerfully do when the time comes.

These days though, it burns a lot of oil. Perhaps a quart every fill up or two. This is despite no noticeable degradation in performance. The service guy tells me this is due to the Nikasil engine. I've been reading these forums and results seem mixed. Some with Nikasil engines report no oil loss. It's in the shop today and I asked for a compression check. He told me they were all good - around 130 except for one cylinder slightly lower. I don't know yet what these numbers mean, but I'll post questions in the appropriate place soon.

I also fly a 1974 Cessna Cardinal RG.

 

Welcome aboard! You'll find this to be a fun and friendly group. Dig in, poke around, and ask lots of questions.

You've got a beautiful car (nice Cessna too. Langley? Pitt Meadows?)

As for your oil useage, have you ever noticed any smoke? With that kind of oil loss, you think it'd be burning blue.

What about coolant loss? The R models are known for head gasket failures, coolant loss being the usual symptom, but I suppose oil use could happen.

 

Hi and welcome to our newest member from the left coast. There's lots of fellow Canadians here as you'll see.

A litre or two of oil per fill up is a concern. I'd look into before something nasty takes place.

Mike

 

Welcome to the forum

 

Welcome to the forum randallg,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.

In the early days of the Nikasil problems when Jaguar were replacing engines under warranty, the 'old' engines were rebuilt with sleeved cylinder liners. Although Jaguar will have stopped doing this themselves, the procedure clearly worked and it could be worth considering having your cylinder block done like this as an alternative to a new engine or replacing the car.

Follow this link https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xk8-xkr-17/ to the XK8/XKR forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for info on regular issues.

You can also visit the US Western Region forum by following Mike's link in post #3 to find other members in your region.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

That's a lot of oil Randalla, if the compression is good I would suspect a leak. If it were the liners I would expect a lot of smoke and poor performance. Have your coolant tested for oil to eliminate the head gasket. Could be something as simple as the cam cover gaskets. Welcome aboard and good luck.

 

welcome to the forum - follow the links Graham has provided to a wealth of info and support - enjoy!!!

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums randallg,

Good to have you with us.
Enjoy the forum.

If you haven't done so already you should add your car details to your signature to help others to help you.
If you need help with getting around and using the forum follow this link for some help Forum Help

 

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