I would check into it deeper before I did anything. First it is EXTREMLEY rare to have a 4.2L STR engine spin a bearing. But you did run it low on oil and that may very well have done it. Any idea why you were so low? Can you do an oil sample analysis? This would show how much metal is in the oil. The timing chain tensioners should be the latest 3rd generation in your car. These have been considered nearly bullet proof but once in a while they have failed. Just not common. You can inspect the tensioners by removing the valve covers. Maybe you could do that to rule out the timing chain issue? I am confused on why your low oil indicator did not come on?

STR's are not known to consume oil either but have heard of several that did get into the 900-1000 mile/quart range. This is NOT considered to be too much according the car manufacturers. If fact many Porsches expect that kind of oil usage. My 2005 STR does not even use a quart between changes at 7500 miles.

If getting a used engine look for any 4.2L that is supercharged. XJR, XKR, STR and Super V8. You will have to change a lot of the externals but the main long block is the same. The supercharged engines have many internal differences compared the standard 4.2L. Lower compression, no VVT, oil squirters under the pistons. Oil cooler fittings.
.
.
.

 

I didn't read where he says the engine was two quarts low on oil. I read where he says it wasn't on the stick.

Two quarts low in a car that is being vigorously accelerated and cornered is likely low enough to cause (repeated) momentary oil starvation. The level might have been even lower than that, we don't know.

Among Jaguar AJV8 engines I have repaired or replaced, listened to, or read about from trusted sources, I can come up with about 15 cases of rod bearing failures in three years. There's a guy named DeShan on XK8 Roadfly with one right now.

 

Yeah, this is true. I admit I used somewhat bad judgment posting what I did, but I feel bad for the guy and in a few days this thread will be buried by 25 new ones. I don't condone insurance fraud, but if something unfortunate happened to his car is would be a nice coincidence. As far as the warranty companies go, they make a ton of money overcharging people and denying claims for stupid nonsense so I would feel no remorse in helping someone take a bit of their profit back.

 

Listen, Im sorry but the guy is obviously in trouble, and is at risk losing his car, mind, and money because the repair cost may be outrageous. Frankly, I would rather an insurance company pay than him. Believe me, insurance companies are doing just fine. I have never pulled a somewhat sketchy maneuver like this, but desperate times-desperate acts. Maybe a PM would have been better but honestly, I'm not worried about it and nor should Frankie. Insurance Investigators<-------------------not CIA agents

 

I am in the same boat as Frankie, for other mechanical reasons, and I was tempted to keep my mouth shut for once, but the last few posts have proved too much temptation, so I am standing on my soap-box for a minute or two.

First. Yes, its sucks more than I care to mention to have a beautiful, high performance garage ornament and be faced with the decision of sinking something close to the value of the car to fix it or taking the hit and selling it for salvage or trying to part it out on ebay. I understand the frustration, sympathize with the situation, and know first-hand the need to find a solution.

Second. I would love to stick it to several warranty companies and insurers for the stupid crap they do to their customers and the idiotic way they run their businesses. The thought has crossed my mind, believe me, but it is not worth it in the least. Part of the reason that warranty and insurance companies charge so much and play hide the policy language is because they have to cover the expense of fraud like this everyday. I don't blame anyone for thinking about it, or even doing it, so long as they understand the consequences that may come as a result. But, don't act as if it is ok to misrepresent the truth and sucker someone else into paying for your troubles just because paying for it yourself sucks. Responsibility for you and yours is so much more valuable than any amount you could sucker from some corporation. Don't believe me? Ask Bernie Madoff's wife.

Third. Whether you do it in an open forum or on the down low, its still fraud, plain and simple. That's not only civil fraud, but criminal fraud. The $8k to $10k hit to fix or ditch the car is far less than the prison time, the fines and court costs, the civil penalties or judgments, or the loss of your reputation should it come to any of those.

Fourth. Greg, if you are an attorney, then you should also be careful about offering legal advice in an open forum as well, especially if you are not licensed in the same place as that advice is received. And, so what if Searanch is a cop? His warning showed no intention of turning anyone in to the authorities, appears to have been offered in the same sense of friendly advice and helpfulness as is generally expected on this forum and as was previously offered to Frankie with regard to his car in this thread, and is spot on correct. I fail to see any of the same helpfulness in your post. Just because you don't seem to like honesty doesn't mean you should make accusations and insinuations for which you have zero basis. Stick to bitching about your car's problems if you have nothing of intrinsic value to offer before somebody on this forum switches from tracking insurance fraud to nailing people for the unauthorized practice of law.

Fifth. Frankie, I hope you get this figured out. When and if you do, please let me know how you did it. I want to love my car again, too. I can promise this much, I will be getting an aftermarket warranty the next time I buy a car.

 

Frankie,

This may be totally wrong, but what about the possibility of dropping in a re-built 4.2 non-supercharged engine if the price is reasonable? This may be an option if you plan on keeping the car for a long time (the point where it is fully depreciated). The downside obviously is that you have a lump with not as much power as you used to have and the car value would drop. Not sure what your cost threshold would be though. Another option is to sell it as is and hope for the best. If you decide to put in another S/C engine, I would be inclined to go with a new engine or short block even though it will be more expensive. This option assumes that you will be keeping the car for a long time in order to re-coup your costs.

Good luck in your decision,

Mike

 

I don't think it's realistic to drop in anything but an SC engine because the STR has so many other special items and they in turn are controlled by electronic modules which expect the SC engine (and its supercharger).

 

Greg - I'll make your day and admit that I owe you an apology. I agree, I probably took the wrong tone, and for that I am sorry. I missed the humor in your post, so sorry also for not catching the lightedhearted nature.

However, I did not call you names, act like I was in a courtroom, or threaten you with removal from this forum (which is not my forum and thus not in my control). Nor did I proclaim myself an attorney, make insinuations about what another member did for a living or might do to other members who were being genuinely helpful, or make "observances" about whether any of this established intent or guilt. My point is (and was) that your post had the affect of casting another member in a negative light; a member who was offering a suggestion that I believe was well-placed and completely accurate. Whether I agree or disagree with other members' viewpoints, I don't try to impugn them while chest thumping and flashing worthless credentials, in jest or otherwise. I doubt anyone here cares that you are an attorney, unless maybe you are an ASE & Jag Certified attorney. So far neither of your posts has been helpful in the least for Frankie or anyone else, unless maybe they captured the humor that alluded me. My suggestion, and you can take it for what its worth, is that you show a little more respect for fellow members or get funnier. And no, that's not legal advice, just courtesy from one member to another.

 

"...unless maybe you are an ASE & Jag Certified attorney". Hey Tex, if I get my law degree from the same CrakerJack box as Greg, I could have a new career!

I always feel guilty parting out a car. Anything can be saved, it's a matter of calling the ***** and strikes. Does the car have enough strikes against it, and do I have the ***** to do it?

You have to look at the market value of the car, factor in how much you are emotionally bonded to it, and calculate how much it needs to get to the value in step one. Then you make the call.

The only thing worse is facing that dilemma when you owe a bunch of money on the thing. The choices are the same, only less gooder. You fix it as cheap as you can and trade it, or spend every cost effective dollar you can scrape together and keep it forever. Is there an ethical alternative that I am missing?

 

No, unless Frankie and I put our two dead engines together to create one limited edition 4.1L V8 XJRS-Type Frankenjag with a s/c for each cylinder bank, 4 cup holders, and giant chrome bolts sticking out of the fenders. Then we can drive each other around and give all of his Ford and Chevy driving friends the finger. I am clearly humorless and have no friends, so I'll give myself the finger..

 

You could always attempt to rebuild it. Buy a new set of main bearings, pull the crank and have the journals polished, possibly hone a cylinder or two depending on how bad it is. The cams and valves should be okay. I don't know how readily availibe parts for these engines are, but really all you may need are new rings and main bearing. Any scratches on the cams or cranks can be polished. It could have been a lot worse, at least you didn't throw a rod.

If all else fails, throw a small black chevy in there and slap a blower on it.

Ummmmm inspiration:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a95D_ivL87Q

If those group of idiot can do it, why not you? I can put that entire motor together for $3,500 plus a custom driveshaft, motor mounts, oil pan, radiator, and a tranny. Rip out all of the old parts and sell them, maybe recoup a couple thousand. I would say you could pull it off for $7k including custom parts minus the $2k for your old parts. Maybe manage the whole thing for around $5k. The trick would be finding a really good custom shop that wouldn't laugh at you when you told them you idea. Once you rip all of the Plastic jaguar stuff out of there and have a blank canvas, you'd be surprised how much room you have.

If you could do it, you would have the most reliable Jaguar ever...

 

Tex, it would be an honor to shake your finger and call you my friend anytime. If my post gave you any other impression, I wrote it wrong.

 

people buy warranties on the time on cars, hell even triple A has a program now. I dont see why buying a warranty would be any different. I bought the warranty of mine, i found a problem, they fixed it. Since the car was used, wouldnt that be the same thing as a prexisting condition?? sell it to your cousin, buy a warranty on it, get it fixed, and then buy it back. I see this happen all the time with insurance and registration issues. Hell they even show this on the show, from the parking authority in philly. go figure

 

JTO - No worries, you wrote it right and I got what you meant. Just offering my only other ethical suggestion that might quiet Frankie's buddies, and taking a shot at myself for my apparent lack of humor and uptightness with Greg's posts.

Jason - Loopholes in the system I can get excited about; that is a damn good point. Warranty/insurance companies certainly don't write their policies to be as beneficial to the consumer as possible; they slant it in their favor and sometimes get sneaky with the languange in the policy. Anytime you can turn it around on them without being dishonest, I'm all for it. A couple of problems here, though. First, it would still be a preexisting condition, whether Frankie sold it to a "strawman" or not. Second, most places are keen to that practice and have laws protecting the companies. Frankie would have to check DC laws or consult a lawyer there to find out for sure. I have yet to see an aftermarket policy that covers preexisting. That is why they put in those 30 days/1000 mile kind of restrictions before coverage kicks in. I like the way you think, though. Maybe we will all figure out a way to do it on the up and up.

 

Excuse my difficulty with reading comprehension, councelor. I read your following statement and took it literally:

"That would mean I introduced my self to you, handed you a card with my law practices name on it when I would have falsely aquired that license"

I misread that to mean that you were presenting a sarcastic retort to the supposition that you were, in fact, an attorney. Unless, of course, you wrote it wrong.

Now that you have made it abundantly clear to this wrench twister that you are an attorney, I would never presume to make light of your credentials or your ethics.

All the more reason why I'm glad I refused to participate in the unethical and desultory discussion of insurance claims. This thread was about broken engines, and I stand by every technical and subjective contribution I have made, rooted as they are in my professional (and credentialed) experience. Sorry I don't reads too good.

I started an associated thread to this ENGINE discussion last night, with some preliminary information about engine interchangeability. Anyone who has factual information to that thread is requested to contribute.

 

TXXJR, ok i understand your logic.........however, buying a car from a used car dealer is exactly the same as selling a car to someone. No matter which way you look at it, if you buy the warranty, it is held the same. NOW if the vehicle is broken down to a point where mileage cannot be added to it, well then this is not the situation where this could work. So i felt my torque converter problem 2 days after leaving the dealer, but still drove it. I took it into Jag, they agreed that the torque converter was bad, so the warranty covered the torque converter. So they replaced it. End of story.