Poor girl has been down since March. Well instead of just head gaskets we found more extensive damage. cam lobs were rusted and, hydraulic lifters/buckets slightly wore bc of it and had some damage in the 2nd cylinder on the left looking at the engine from font of the car. had a line of deep scoring down the center of the wall so now it needs to be sleeved and the piston replaced. On top of that when the valley pipe blew that started all this it warped the block and heads .003" which is within shaving tolerances. Ill likely buy a new engine to replace this but may build it back in the future with some forged pistons or something. TBD. I already have upgraded head studs and new timing parts ive bought ready to install before i found out about the cylinder wall. new plugs, coils belts etc. which is minor considering what needs fixed. Does anyone have an engine they know about in good condition for sale OR anyone have any thoughts? help locating a new/ remanufactured 5.0L S/C for a long block would be helpful. My supercharger is freshly rebuilt and ported so dont need a replacement S/C. My thinking as of now is since the motor is out of the car just get a new reman motor for the time being and rebuild my old one bulletproof so to speak over time. been a while since ive been on here hope everyone is doing well during the holidays.

 

Talk about bad luck! Hope you got some mileage out of it before things went wrong?

I see a re-manufactured long block for around $10K and used engines starting about $6K on Ebay.
5.0L SC Engines

Here is a set of .025" over size pistons, rings and wrist pins.
Over Size Pistons

These are from Euro-Amp and they are worth a look as they carry a lot of JLR parts.
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so by going oversized am I going to have e to change th tuning parameters on it then ? Can’t imagine you wouldn’t

 

That small of an overbore won't mess with the actual running, it's done to allow a fresh machine pass on the cylinders to give a good sealing surface.

 

From my experience with both the AJ133 and AJ126, if the block is warped it must be replaced as the entire block is distorted and cannot be machined back to allow proper sealing. The cylinder heads can be successfully machined to provide a proper sealing surface with the block.

Most of the internal parts for these engines being sold on eBay and other parts websites are from China. With the amount of labour involved, I certainly wouldn't trust them.

 

Agree with RoverJoe. It's just a bit of clean up to insure clearances are correct. Same idea when skinning heads and blocks. Take small amounts off to return things to factory clearances.

The problem is JLR doesn't provide internal engine parts? At least not easily found parts.
So what are owners suppose to do if China is the only option?

What is the price of an engine from JLR IF you can even get one?
Jaguar has completely abandoned their customer base and this is one more glaring example.
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@clubairth1 I am not worried about the parts so much as I am the build. but you are correct luckily, I am good friends with my local JLR guy and he can hook me up I am pretty sure from what he has told me. hes helped me a ton in the past with parts they have had in the shop that are "not for sale" but are good and have been taken off cars. so @NBCat is saying the block is junked. its at or under .,003" which ive heard is fine to shave down but now you have me worried that it wont clean up. is there a way to measure any other parts of it. I need a new cam for sure ill post some pics. I went and got it all yesterday and OMG so many parts so many parts so many parts. LOL I tell you what though I have built engines and repaired all kinds of cars. A part of me wants to take on this challenge of rebuilding it. Is there any kind of video online of someone building one of these from the block up ? If anyone does Id love to see it. Its not that I dont really know what goes where or anything its that its just like any specialize skill there are "do's and dont" best practices for installing things like timing and things like that. Just little nuances I may not be aware of in different areas of the engine. So if anyone can help me in that it would be invaluable. ill post pics shortly you can see the cam shaft rusted where the leak is. I need new hydraulic lifter buckets but i know they are sized individually so best practices for that as well. thank you all. if anyone has a line on a good block Id appreciate it as well. Also @gt40 dont think you are getting out of this debacle without some skin in the game !!!! LOL

Also the ones from china that are built you dont think those are worth messing with ? do we know they are bad for certain ?

 

 

That's the problem. We don't have parts from JLR and if China is the only source. Again what do we do? How can we rebuild these engines?

Jlohojo7 I would love to see you do this. We have had several big engine rebuild threads by Xdave and Dave Tibbs. BUT these have been in the past and now things are different in relation to the parts supply. Also look to the guys who repair/rebuild these on a day to day basis. Like Xalty and Kansanbrit are also worth reading. They have hands on experience and do this for a living.
So it might be worthwhile to search for those forum members threads.

Here is the classic Dave Tibbs thread on his rebuild. We even named his method of SC removal the "Tibbs Method"!
5.0L SC Engine Rebuild
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New engines are available from JLR main dealers in the form of a 'long block' for roughly 18,000$US to 25,000$US depending on the VIN. There are some aftermarket places that claim to be able to 'rebuild' the AJ133 or AJ126, but have inconsistent results.

The blocks cannot be brought back to the correct form as the block itself, being made of aluminium, distorts. Removing or skimming material from the surface facing the cylinder heads does not create a good sealing surface as the entire block is distorted. If it were made of cast iron, that would be possible.

 

I haven't had to work on the block or anything below the heads, but when I did pull the heads to replace head gaskets & update the timing drive parts, I used the shop procedures directly from JLR ToPIx, and it had all the information needed. Although I can't say the pictograph form of presenting the procedures isn't my favorite method, after going through a few of them I am much more comfortable or "fluent" in following it.
But I can't say that there isn't great value in reading through as many forum posts as possible before starting and during the tasks - so many forum members have written so many mechanical experiences down in this forum and more so in the rangerovers.net forum for my Range Rover that needed the work on it's AJ133 engine.
But again, the JLR ToPIx procedures were THE step-by-step removal and assembly guide for me, with no problems or surprises.

 

why do they charge that for cars that arent even worth that anymore basically ? mine mint is a 16 XJR all options etc and its not worth but 26 at best.

 

And again that is the problem!
How can anybody decide to put a $25K long block (Now remember this does NOT include all the auxiliary costs of removal and replacement plus all the little things that will need to replaced once your in the middle of the project.) for a car worth $26K???

Just look at the cars sent to the junk yard that are in nice shape. It's too expensive to fix them so minor accidents are the end of the car.
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Hey Joe. Dont you wish you had one of these.

 

The arrival of EVs turned the automobile into just another appliance for the upcoming crop of consumers . Automakers were happy to oblige by developing cars with no concern for durability/longevity since that was always against their interests. Now that the masses are no longer able to repair their cars themselves, due mostly to the complexity/fragility of automotive designs and the dumbing down of people who prefer "convenience", those masses are going to be stuck with long term transportation costs, never winding down after paying off their initial investment. I expect that it will become commonplace for monthly transportation costs to exceed $1000 per, that will NEVER END and only increase in the future, leading to a lifetime personal cost for basic transportation to be at minimum $600,000. So on top of the absurd educational debt our youth faces, they need to factor this into their future. Glad I am old and dodged most of this, but hate it for my grandkids.

 

As I see it, the potential price that our XJ is worth doesn't have to be fixed to what the resale value might be.
At the time it was new it was valued at the $100k level. It's still the same car, in good shape too.
So I could see a person that would consider it worth the original price when new and spends a commensurate amount to maintain it to the condition they want it to be in might just see no real replacement for it and not have a problem spending what it takes to keep that dream car, that ideal car fully operational without any consideration towards what someone else would pay them for that XJ.
It might be worth considering what that (up to, at the top end) $25k would buy to replace that otherwise great XJ - maybe a decent middle-of-the-road newer used car, or some other older worn-out luxury car.
It may be a tough choice, but I myself don't base the value on the going resale price. Not that it ever would be or was worth the initial price off the dealership lot to me even brand new, What it's worth to me personally is a separate value.
I can't say my opinion is better, and it obviously isn't widely shared or else they wouldn't be as easy to find in the salvage yards & auctions as some say.
But for me, I consider spending half that for a complete repaint or possibly complete re-cover of the front seats someday.
And of course the transmission is another large component that will need maintenance/repair at various points.
But all this is considering that there are no car payments, so maintenance and repair are the only cost other than gas & insurance.
If only infotainment systems could be refreshed...

 

All higher end cars have this issues. MB engines can be nearly the cost of the car for a replacement unit. The manufacturers don't care about selling service parts cheap, there's no benefit to them. It's shitty but that's the way the market has moved. Owners with money just replace the car every few years, and the people buying old ones trying to 'keep them going' are looking for a deal on a luxury product, which means they often don't spend with the manufacturer anyway for purchase or repairs, and are therefore not really a customer anymore.

 

Just something to consider, when needing a replacement engine....

My wife was sitting at a red light, in her low mileage, 4 year old, at the time, 2012 XJ-L, when the jackass who was behind her didn't realize, until it was too late, that she was stopped. He rear-ended her, and the impact shoved her into the car that was in front of her. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt, but the car ended up being written off as a total loss, as the repair estimate added up to $39,000. I kept up with where the car wound up, that being a 'Copart' auction, with the car selling for $9500. My point is if someone needs a major component, like an engine, if you can find a low mileage car like ours was, you could get your parts at a reasonable amount of money....

 

That's a good suggestion and I do cruise Co-Part now and again looking for drive lines.
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