I am looking at a 1998 XJ8. It had its motor replaced some years ago with an engine imported from the UK. My question is we’re engines produced for the UK different than engines in vehicles imported to the US. Especially wondering about timing chains and the tensioners. Motor currently has 50,000 miles.
Thanks

 

To the best of my knowledge, the only difference is AU (Australia) and EU (Europe) had 3.2L option. The NA (North America) 96-99 have the AJ26 4.0L motor and have nikasil lined sleeves.
They all had chain and tensioner issues up to '02, ...'03 they finally put in metal tensioners before switching to X350 body.

 

You should be able to find your engine date code number. You will find it digitally etched on the horizontal ledge to the right of the warm water thermostat tower when you’re standing on the left side of the engine bay. It should be something like ‘BS9803221234’. The first 4 numbers represent the ‘build sample year, and the last 8 are the date it was produced. The late 2002 and all 2003 AJ26 all did not have the nikasil lined sleeves. I feel fairly certain the actual engines would be the same otherwise. Anything past BS0108130000 should have the alloyed bodied tensioners.

 

is there a way to know what year engine was put into the XJ8. Does the engine number give you the year. Thanks

 

Sorry Randy, the AJ26 was only made until '99...then in '00 they came out with the AJ27 and it didn't have nikasil lined sleeves. There are some fairly significant differences between the two motors.

The engine ID, like Randy states, drivers side, near the motor mount bracket... and defines as the 1st two are the year....next two are month...and the next two the day...and the last 4 digits are from the 24 hr time clock.
Example 9808101644 ...decodes as, 1998 Aug 10 4:44pm...this is the date the block was built from bare into a functional motor.

Now, yours being a replacement, you won't know if it was a rebuilt motor or just a used one until you get the code. I do not know if there is a special code for rebuilt motors from the factory or if the factory even rebuilds them?

 

Thanks highhorse, thanks for the catch. According to some users, rebuilds have new numbers assigned.
However, I am unsure where they locate the new tag for them.

 

This is where I get confused. If someone that knows for sure when the change was (Bob?), please correct me. This is only about the X308 cars. I got the impression that the supercharged AJ26S engine was in the 98’ & 99’ sedan until the end of 99’ MY cars. However, the 99’ NON-supercharged engine had an AJ27 engine. Or was there a mid year change like a 99.5’??

Randy, I know of a customer who has a 99’ VandenPlas and got a brand new engine replaced under warranty from Jaguar. That etched area on top of the D/S block next to the thermostat housing had no ID at all. I think there was some numbers on the D/S, on the lower side of the block but no vin sticker.

Highhorse, I got the impression that the Nikasil was around until 01’? Maybe even until they replaced the timing set??

 

From what I've read initially, the Nikasil went out with the AJ26. But for the transition to the AJ27, I to understand it to be a early '99 change for the XJ8 and '00 for the XJR (AJ27S). For MY '00, steel liners were used instead of Nikasil.
I just ran across this for XK's...a six-digit sequence at the end of the VIN indicates Nikasil liners while five-digits mean steel liners are fitted. ....my '00 VDP has a 5 digit.

There was a AJ28 for the '00-02 S-Type, for which I recently ran across. There was no AJ28S though.