Hello people,
I seek help and counciling from fellow enthusiasts!! I have spent the last two and half years restoring my XJS V12 convertible to somwhere near its former glory, its a 1989 car with only 68k with a very good history. After a thirteen year lay off the car finally made it back on the road this February passing its mot with no advisories! After three hundred miles of driving with a big smile on my face, DISASTER!! upon starting the car one morning, the engine made a noise like the worlds end, a jet of water from the left bank exhaust pipe then the engine exhaled its final breath. I stopped crying after a couple of days and stripped the left bank to find a valve seat had dropped,shattering and cracking the liner for good measure. My question is, bearing in mind I'm an average Joe with limited funds, do I rebuild the old lump or do I take a risk on a secound hand lump? If its to be the latter, does anyone out there know of a good engine that may be for sale? Or a reputable parts specialist perhaps?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Neil.




Thanks,

Neil.

 

Hello, Neil,
I'm sorry your 12 has bit the dust. My condolences.

You ask about a used engine. From my brief time in these forums I have learned, if the 12 is good, they're running it. If it isn't, you don't want it anyway as it may be even worse than what you have.

Of course, if I'm wrong, one of our V12 gurus will be along shortly to correct me.

Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

Welcome aboard Neil......good luck.

 

Welcome to the forum, good luck with your engine.

 

Welcome.

I am biased of course, and the 12 is a 12 like no other.

To drop a valve seat is usually from overheating at some stage in the past. The fact this one has sat so long, that question must be asked, and maybe not answerable.

To do yours correctly will not be "cheap", but a s/hand of unknown history could be equally "un-cheap".

Apparently there are many V12's in scrappers in the UK, and when the clock ticks by a tad and they wake up, you may get better answers.

I woudl do my own engine every time.

A reask in the XJ-S section will certainly get more exposure than in here.

 

welcome to the forum - enjoy!!

 

Welcome to the forum Neil,

Good to have you with us at Jaguar forums.

Sorry to hear about your engine disaster. It's a long time since I saw an XJS on the road in this part of the World.

A rebuild will be expensive on parts alone and more so if you need to call on professional expertise. A replacement engine shouldn't be too difficult to source and a lot cheaper option but will be an unknown quantity. This also compromises the originality of a vehicle which is finally starting to increase in value. Difficult choice.

Follow this link XJS ( X27 ) - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the XJS forum for help, advice and information. The 'HOW TO' thread at the top is a good place to start for information on regular issues.

Please remember to add vehicle details to your Signature to help others to give relevant advice. Go to the User CP button on the left of the top menu bar, then Settings & Options under Your Control Panel. Select Edit Signature and enter the details.

You can also visit the UK & Eire Region forum by following this link UK & Eire - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to find other members in your region.

Enjoy the forums.

Graham

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums Neil,

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

 

Its been many moons since my last post, just though Id put an update on my post and say a couple of big thank you's. I have been unable to source a decent replacement lump so, for better or worse, I have decided to rebuild my engine. The heads came off without too much trauma, revealing the true horror beneath, pot four on bank B very poorly; piston totaled, liner cracked and head and valves decimated. I found bits of seat floating about in both intake manifolds, fortunately all is well in bank A, luckily no damage to the pistons. It was highly recommended to me to pull both heads, I would say it is essential, I have found particals of seat everywhere! stripping the bottom end, pot four con rod is still straight! crank has suffered, minor scoring on big end journals due to what looks like tiny bits of seat embedded in the bearing material, this will be re ground. Apart from the above the rest of the engine seems to be in fair nick, little wear, if any. Engine is now stripped to its bare bones and cleaning has begun in earnest! I have sourced two new heads(complete), piston and liner, making the rest up as I go, secondary water pump is a certainty. I would like to thank Chris (up the cov!) at CFS for finding my piston, Rodger bywater at AJ6 and Nigel Boycott for taking time to help a lowly amateur! their knowledge is astounding!! cheers lads. To everyone else, KEEP YOUR CAT COOL OR ELSE!!!

 

Neil,

Good to hear you're making progress even though it has revealed some horrors.

You should post this and updates as you make further progress as a rebuild thread in XJS forum. You'll get a lot of interest, support and no doubt some good advice.

Graham