I replaced a bad motor with a broken timing chain cylinder head was broken same with the piston it could’ve been fixed and it was a shame because it only had 60,000 miles on it. But when i swapped it with a different motor my life so much easier it was a big job just to do that I could always see the end of the road with the project. I put an xj8 in a xk8... And it worked out good after a month I have a leak in the front of the motor probably a water pump etc. but to do a rod bearing I could only imagine

 

rod knock that has elevated in sound to literal "hammering" sound.

 

My current search is finding good used motors from $1450 to $1750. At that price it'll be cheaper to buy a wreck. I can also look at getting existing engine rebuilt. Any thoughts?

 

I actually took a 4.0 AJ27 NIKASIL block and had steel liners installed at a machine shop.($60 per hole) I measured (plastigage) and reused the main and rod bearings. (they were within tolerance)

I worked at the dealer so I had a few old/failed NIKASIL engines that were to be scrapped so I thought WHY NOT?
The cylinder heads were good so I bought new rings for the pistons in the new liners.

Time consuming but not difficult. I already did the Engine Course 180 (later is the 168) so I had the experience and manual.

I used the same crank that came in the block so no bearing difference and I used the same connecting rods in the same journals so no change there either.

If I ever had to replace a crank, I would just replace the engine block/crank as a unit with good-used to keep the bearing selection out of the mix.

There is a matrix to determine the bearings but I just let the guy at the engine factory do his job and build the engine the was it was 'back-in-the-day'.

I know how to do it, I just don't want to.

 

ANY 4.0 Jaguar engine block will work with any Jaguar that is fitted with a 4.0 engine.
The 4.0 blocks/cranks are ALL THE SAME.
I needed an engine for a 2000 XJ8L (AJ27) and I had a good 4.0 AJ28 from a 2002 S-Type with a bad head.

I stripped the AJ28 heads and upper oil sump from the block/bedplate and installed the AJ27 upper sump and heads.
I now have a perfectly suitable AJ27 engine in my 2000MY X308. (with a 4.0 S-Type block)

Just use what ya got.

 

How much is the car realistically worth? May be easier just to buy another. These jobs snowball.

 

Yes you can , but you have to drop the cradle.

 

And....you may discover other damage there...or you may not.
That would not be my personal method of repair. However, there
is no harm in trying that route.

 

There are no 'main bearing caps'. The crankshaft 'bearing' caps are actually a 'structure' so access is limited to the connecting rods.
The subframe is another limiting factor.

Please read and comprehend the Jaguar Engine Course 168 I had converted to .pdf from a paper 3 ring binder issued from Jaguar training class.

The bearing selection matrix is complicated and might change your mind about things?

 

Tiny tidbit of advice, note that the con rods are fracture split. The caps will only go back together with the corresponding rod and in the right orientation. Mark em so you don't flip them around or get them mixed up.