Hey e eryone. My driver side cylinder head has some cavitation on one of the combustion sides as seen. Looking to buy one if anyone knows where. Ebay seems to have passenger side ones but can't find the side I need. Hoping to find one for about $200

 

Is there a machine shop around to weld & machine your current head???

 

Ya there is. I don't know what they would weld but I'm not sure resurfacing it would fix the cavitation. I didn't know welding it was an option

 

They would weld the surface to build up material and then resurface it down smooth. Not sure on the price though. But it may be worth looking into.

 

Decades ago i met a machinist, that took funny car heads, that had met a moving piston.
A real mess, but when he was finished, it looked new, & was.
He then shipped it back to be reused again.
Was a pleasure, just watching him do his work.
A real artist.at work

 

Thanks guys. Definitely looking into that. Found a place to pressure test and resurface for $120 each head. Although now with all the parts I'm replacing im considering replacing the whole engine for like $1200. Buying all the parts I want to replace new is coming to be like $2000. Decisions decisions. Whole engine would be cheaper but it'd be all used parts again. New parts is nice but more expensive.

 

If you were considering a full engine rebuild, it's both challenging and satisfying technically but makes little financial sense as a used replacement can be sourced for less. With the top end only overhaul, the numbers get a lost closer but used replacement engine is still likely to work out cheaper and the other attraction is it's a lot faster solution.

However, the factor that tips the balance for me is how susceptible the Jaguar V8 is to warped heads from overheating. You can't be sure of the provenance of a used engine unless it comes out of an accident write off with a previously perfect service record! You could easily be buying someone else's trouble and, even if it comes with a warranty, switching engines a second time is no fun.

Painful though it is to spend the extra, I'd go the new parts route which draws a line under the issue.

Graham

 

I am curious how a head gets cavitation to that level. You didn't state how many miles, but off an 04 it likely is a fair amount. So... not running the Jaguar OAT coolant or changing it as required? I think the orangeaid is good for 5 years, but it does cause me to wonder what my internals look like (and the cars as well!) I am not the best with coolant service but I always run the right stuff, never mix types and will change out coolant that looks obviously nasty. That pic has me wanting to go flush it right now!

 

Looking at the head gasket for the 2004 XJ8, it does not include that area. So most likely something made its way into the engine and caused those marks. My Pontiac Torrent with the 3.4 dropped the electrode off of a spark plug and the entire cylinder was chewed up. Having darn near 200k miles I left it. No issues really except for it maybe burns a bit of oil as the wall is scored.