Hi folks,
As seen in another thread, I was looking at a 98 XJR, and I fell in love. Logic has little place when a girl is this pretty so there she sits, in my garage.
A blown head gasket was the problem the symptoms pointed to, and sure enough it's blown, or the head's cracked. I pulled the plugs and did a compression test. Water sprayed out of LH bank #1, so that's a pretty big clue. All 8 cylinders came out at 100 psi, except LH #3, which was 90, and LH#1 at 125. That was wet with water, which probably helped the ring seal.
I pulled the RH valve cover, to discover plastic tensioners. I then removed the supercharger belt, and found some play in the couper, but otherwise smooth rotation.

Given this info, I think I'll pull the engine and do all the work on a stand, as my back won't thank me for trying to do it in situ.
It should be a good project, something I've been looking into for a while now.
Now to search the website for the engine removal thread....

 

Remove battery connections.

Remove hood, mark and unplug all electricals, drain coolant. Disconnect exhaust, motor and tranny mounts. Pull motor. installation is the opposite of removal.

I may have missed a few steps, but that should be CLOSE.

 

Mr. Snyder-
I would say that was pretty simplistic. I think you would begin cussing as you yanked the AC lines, PS, and the hoses loose, not to mention jamming the front of the engine into the cooling fans and radiator!
Were you being funny, or have you actually never done an engine R/R on a X-308?

 

I have done quite a few engines over the years, it's not rocket science to pull them out. But the little tips and tricks that people have found are priceless.
Just unhook everything attached to the engine until it comes free. It'd kinda like the sculptor who said "it's easy- just get a block of stone, and knock off all the bits that don't look like a horse".

 

Random thought before bedtime- why are there sooo many different types of electrical connectors? Good lord, it seems like every other one has a different latch design.

 

Use the headgasket from the 4.2L if it fits the AJ26 like you have. There was a running change in 2001 to a MLS headgasket design.

And do the two hoses under the SC as well as the knock sensors.

Great colour on the body!

 

I was being a bit facetious- there is more to it but he mentioned he was going to read r&r posts so....

 

Well, I think all the stuff I mentioned is relevant to the decision to remove the engine vs. doing the heads in the car. I believe if I decided to take the engine out of the car, I would take it out the bottom on the subframe. It sure looked tight in there to get to the bell housing bolts. The main pain for me was getting to all of the bolts, connectors, and crap on the back of the TB during re-assembly- but I can't see worth a crap, and I have arthritis in my hands. Without that if might not have been too bad!

 

Dsnyder has done several of them according to past threads, and just finished the latest one a couple of weeks ago. Yes, engine out.

 

OK, then, how about some constuctive advice to avt007. Like- the argument of coming out the top vs the bottom/ And, what stuff was cleared to get to the engine mounts and the bell housing bolts. Also, where did you lift from? How much do you need to remove around the radiator to provide space to get the transmission loose as you pull the engine forward?

 

Top out- remove radiator. Trans comes out with the engine (you wont save much time or effort in my opinion by trying to pull just the engine, but to each his own.)

There are more little things you can attend to while you are in there, like valley hoses and motor mounts as well as supercharger oil etc etc. The engine has to come out at a pretty steep angle but after you remove the radiator there is quite a bit of room. Using an engine hoist it was up a few inches, the forward>>up a few inches then forward>> repeat.

i printed out the JTIS engine removal instructions and followed them step by step.

 

Yes, I am intending to pull the transmission with it. So rad out, all the the hoses/wires off, driveshaft, exhaust and mounts, then out she comes.

It can all be done in place, but the idea of spending all that time bent over the car makes my back ache. Plus as mentioned, the joys of getting older and having less than perfect vision, etc.

I much prefer the thought of having it on an engine stand, where I can see just what I'm doing with out a struggle. the basic shopping list is the entire timing chain kit, upper and lower, head gaskets, octopus hose, S/C hoses, water pump, and any idler pulleys or hoses that look iffy.

Also any repairs/upgrades the supercharger needs. Transmission fluid as well of course.

 

It's a bit easier if you remove the front wheels and get the nose down on stands as low as you can to pull engine/trans. Be careful of the trans cooler lines, alloy threads in the rad.
Make sure you lock the engine in the service position via the starter ring gear(45 deg atdc) before taking it to bits.

As I suggested to dsnyder (when he was a novice ), use a trolley jack on the tail of the trans as you pull the engine forward and out, it really helps move things along.

 

Sean- thanks for the tips. I'm looking for a hoist right now that will do the job.

 

What the guys said. It comes out almost as easy as on a fox 5.0 mustang

Congrats on the car, awesome color.

 

I actually have a similar project except mine is not supercharged. Waiting for the heads to return from the machine shop. I removed the radiator and condenser so I could have room to remove the crank pulley and timing chain cover. You'll need to remove those as well for moving the motor forward. I can say with the heads off the rest of the motor removal would be a breeze! I am a complete Jag novice tho... So far everyone has been pretty attentive with my posts so you should get plenty of help on your endeavor =) happy rebuild sir!

 

Thanks Steve. I went a different route, and pulled the engine today, but left the transmission in. The exhaust did not want to come off so I decided to try it this way.
Overall it went smoothly for an engine removal, that is. There was the inevitable skin and blood loss, the wires and pipes the manual doesn't tell you about, and just general fiddling about to get her out, but there it is.

A question for those have done it- is a normal engine stand ok for this unit? Usually a Chev or Ford uses large bolts to join the engine and trans, often with just open holes that you can use to bolt the engine stand on.
But Jag uses lots of small bolts into blind holes, and I am concerned that only 4 small bolts may not be enough for the weight of the engine. Thoughts?

 

I used a low quality stand- it did the trick, but afterwards I noticed the center wheel gave in... Otherwise it worked fine. (to be fair it has been used for about 4 motors, 3 of them being Jags and left on it for months.)

 

 

God, Sean. I think my wife would be totally pissed if I left my engine in the foyer no matter how clean.

Here in the states, in West Virginia, they put the tranny and the engine in the bathtub. Has no other use.