Good day everyone,
I’ve recently been considering the purchase of a 2011–2014 Jaguar XJ Portfolio (X351). I understand that the available engines varied depending on the model year, with both the 5.0 L and 3.0 L options. I apologize if this has already been discussed, but I couldn’t find a clear answer. Could someone please share what I should look out for between these two engines, and any key points to keep in mind when buying one of these vehicles?
Last, shall I look for a 5.0 engine or a 3.0?

Thank you.

 

Power vs fuel economy.... with price on the sideline watching the fight.

 

2011 - no 3.0 (V6) yet, choice of 5.0 V8 NA or SC.
2012 to 2014 - V6 SC (SC only, no such animal as a V6 NA) which replaced the 5.0 V8 NA which was discontinued, or 5.0 V8 SC.
Power and torque of the V6 and V8 NA very similar, V6 slightly better fuel economy.
Need to rev the V6 to get max power, not so much the NA V8.
Early V8 (2011-2012) had problems with the timing chains/guides/tensioners, largely but not completely fixed at the same time as the V6 came out in 2012.
2011 and earlier 2012 have the 6 speed ZF 6HP28 slushbox, later 2012 onwards have the 8 speed ZF 8HP70.
Both great transmissions but 8 speed a little smoother and slightly better fuel economy than the 6 speed.

 

If you're looking at both supercharged versions, they are basically the same engine. The 3.0L is plenty of power for average driving, and for a modest investment into a pulley and tune it can be pushed to the same base power as the 5.0L. The 5.0L was RWD only, the 3.0L was available with AWD. I personally would not settle for a RWD 3.0L, but if you really don't care about horsepower then it could be the most affordable option.

 

Thanks everyone for the replies.
To be honest, I’m not really into the “Supercharged” idea — I’ve been leaning more toward the 5.0 N/A.I own a 2003 SC and I’m a very smooth driver I rarely step on it -
My main concern is reliability, and I’m working with a budget of around $15k.

 

You should be able to find a 5.0NA for $15K pretty easily, but if you don't care about horsepower I would pick the newest 3.0 you can find for the interior amenities. Both the V8 and V6 engines share the same cooling system and timing chain issues so you may as well get the one with the best bang for the buck.

A newer model would be worth it for the 8-speed transmission and the larger navigation screen alone.

 

Terry, maybe I can help with this question. I have owned both a 2012 5.0L NA XJ and a 2016 3.0L SC AWD XJL. Unfortunately, no 5.0L SC to throw into the mix. The one oddity you may find of interest is the 3.0L block is essentially a 5.0L SC block with the back 2 cylinders filled with aluminum (to make the V6). This was done to keep the different parts between a 3.0L and 5.0L engine to a minimum and to keep the 50/50 weight distribution for both engines.

As for mileage, I see it more as a draw. I was getting about the same with the 2 engines. So, do not let that be a deciding factor.

As for driveability. Again, I am going to pretty much call this a toss up. The 3.0L has a bit more umpf up in the RPMs, but the 5.0L will allow you to pass without having to shift gears. If I was to say anything, the biggest difference is the 5.0L motor turns about 2,000 RPMs at 70 MPH where the 3.0L is only turning 1500. This is mainly due to the 8 speed tranny vs the 6. Both cars will do a nice pull from 20 mph to 70 in pretty much 1 gear that will sit you back in your seat and get you around about anyone out there that you need to pass. I have currently about 105K miles on the 3.0L and had around 150K on the 5.0L.

As for things to look out for, both motors suffer from essentially the same problems except for 1 additional on the 3.0L. If these motors have a weakness, it is the cooling system. Whatever car you get, plan on dropping a $1000 and getting the cast metal cooling pipes and doing this right after buying the car. This will solve any worry you have about having a catastrophic failure. Sure, the 5.0L probably has a slightly higher failure rate of the timing chain guides, but this has been attributed to the Jaguar recommended 15K mile oil change intervals. Most people here will tell you to stick with somewhere between 5-7K mile oil change intervals. I was doing 7K mile changes and I never had to put on new chain guides after 120K miles (still didn't have any noise, so, I more than likely had a lot of life left). But, the 3.0L does suffer from a wearable supercharger snout that will make a bit of noise for you, especially on shutdown. Replacement is fairly easy and not that costly. The other issue that I seem to see a fair number of people talk about is fuel injector failures. But, both engines use the same injectors. The biggest issue comes from getting something into the fuel system and this will raise hell with the high pressure (can go as high as 20,000 psi as I recall, maybe only 5,000 psi, still up there) fuel system. You get any say water into the fuel system, this is going to hurt the fuel injectors in no time as the water does not lubricate them satisfactorily.

As a final note, you do not mention something that I find to be a big game changer for a lot of people. Auto START/STOP. The 3.0L engine has this built into the computer system and while it can be turned off, you have to push a button every time you get into the car to make this happen. The 2013-early2016 cars could defeat this by simply removing the aux battery. The later 2016 cars had no aux battery and it was coded into the computer. So, defeating it is much more challenging. Does the motor turning itself on and off on its own give you concern? The argument is that the worst thing you can do to a motor is start it. Now, instead of starting it once and driving 15 miles in town, you may drive that same 15 miles and have the motor start 10, 20, 30 times. All the more reason to have a high quality oil with short change intervals in use at a minimum.

If you have additional questions, let me know.

 

The 2016+ is still just one connector in the trunk that needs unplugged to disable the start/stop feature.

 

Terry,
The 5.0 has a solid, understated refinement and sense of power reserve the 3.0 lacks....Drive both, and you will see what l mean
I would hold out for 2013 or later, to get the magnificent 8speed gearbox.....My 5.0 turns 1200 rpm on the freeway 😏

NA is simpler and quite adequate, as Rools-Royce would say, in the performance dept.

I get 23 average mpg when driving in a restrained manner.

 

Terry007, I'll add to Thermo's very accurate summary. You will find the 3 liter more than adequate in acceleration and with where you are located, you probably would be fine with a RWD unless you're driving up to Tahoe in the winter. The 3 liter RWD is slightly quicker than the AWD. The other item you will face with the XJ's engines is obtaining the very specific oil. There are about 3 or 4 brands that adhere to the Jaguar oil specification and they may not be available at your corner auto parts store. Most of us prefer to use what is specified. One more comment about the cooling system. In the model years you are interested in, the water pump had a high failure rate. Make sure you inquire if the water pump was replaced. If it's still the original, expect the front seal to begin weeping.

 

Yes don't worry about the start stop system. Regardless if you have the separate small battery or the later versions with a Super-Cap in place of the small battery. They both can be disabled with no problems.
Instructions on this forum.

I think the 5.0 NA was the sweet spot as far as drive trains go. And I own a SC version!
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I agree!

 

Thank you I will look for a 2012 n/sc portfolio and will keep you posted -
I m going to be selling my 2003 VDP/sc so I will need to replace it
there are so many great cars / models out there I’m getting sidetracked -
thank you all
Terry

 

The non-supercharged V8 is sublime, but I wouldn't want another one that has the old timing chains and tensioners, and I think they all did. That's a nightmare. From what I read, all the timing change updates weren't added until 2014.

 

My 2003 is a VDP /SC and they had no issues with timing chain. All models built after July 2001 had the timing chain issue fixed.

 

You are very confused. Your 2003 has nothing in relation to the 5.0L V8 in the X351s. It's not relevant to this discussion anymore than saying a Fiat 500 has no issues with timing chains.

 

I’m not confused at all !
Perhaps you did not read my comment correctly -
I was only saying that I would replace my 2003 with a 2012 X351
there is no confusion here i’m completely aware. They are two different models

Terry

 

The later 5.0L engines had several updates to the tensioner system. It appears from checking part numbers that around 2014 the problems were either fixed or vastly reduced. This is why the recommendation is to get the latest year car you can afford. I still think if oil changes are done on a reasonable interval (NOT Jaguar's ridiculous 10K-15K mile recommendations!) that will head off a lot of problems.

I have settled on around a 6K change interval on my car.

You can check the chains for looseness a bit by going thru the oil fill cap and seeing if there is any slack in the chain using a right angle pick tool. Always good to listen closely on engine shut down too. Turn off the radio and open the drivers door first. Then shut off the engine. There is almost always some indications before you into problems.

I did not even know I had a SC coupler problem until this was suggested to me. Sure enough I had the classic clunk on shut down. How long had it been making noise and I just did not know it?

Just like the cooling system stuff. Keep an eye on it and you will catch things BEFORE disaster strikes!

When you get your car do post some pictures as that is always popular!
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Educate me.

You said "All models built after July 2001 had the timing chain issue fixed." Please tell me all of the models Jaguar built after 2001. Then tell me which of those models built after 2001 have timing chain issues.

Maybe you didn't write what you meant to write.

 

@lotusespritse

fyi - I was only referring to my 2003 Jaguar that I was about to sell to purchase an X351
- so if you would’ve read my earlier posts, you would’ve understood what I was referring to, but it is not important
please, let’s move
We don’t need to argue over a car. . Life is way too short -to argue

Thank you.