I've messaged a couple members about this, but following their good advice (again) I'm going to throw this out there. Maybe someone had the same problem or concern, and discovered a solution.

Quickly, I possibly found a 1999 XJ8 for my F-I-L. Aside from a couple small dings, she's mint inside and out. She only has 60K on her, and is clean as a whistle. Little old lady story, right?

The problem is, of course, the motor. I was hoping for tensioner noise when I went to look at it, but it is definitely not that. The noise seems to be in the RH bank. I had my ear practically touching the RH valve cover and I swear the sound was coming from in there. It sounds "kinda" like if you rolled two marbles in your hand, somewhat quickly, with a low squeak once in a while. It's somewhat like a bad pulley bearing, but it sure didn't sound like it was coming from the front. It is not a constant noise either, and it doesn't last the same amount of time when it does make the noise.

The motor sounds strong, isn't missing, and has no vibrations otherwise. She's too pretty for a parts yard (as the owner thinks..) but I'm also not looking to have to remove and replace a motor - maybe.... she is in better shape than mine and he'd love to have her.....

I'm not overly versed in Jaguar "common" problems or concerns and am just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience or knows what it possibly could be. I wish I had taken a video.....

Thoughts gentlemen?

 

So . . . you definitely know what a failing tensioner sounds like . . . .

Perhaps you could take the valve cover off and take a look.

 

You did not say if the engine ran rough or not. If there is a noise and the engine is smooth, you probably do have tensoner failur without a chain jump - yet! Buy it, change the tensioner, then feel good about the deal you got.

 

Test - didn't word that correctly. The tensioner doesn't make a noise... I just did all the chains, guides, tensioners, etc. on my XJ8L. I know that problem can just happen without warning, but once you hear that warble of "loose" chains you don't forget it.

Spark - "The motor sounds strong, isn't missing, and has no vibrations otherwise. She's too pretty for a parts yard (as the owner thinks..) but I'm also not looking to have to remove and replace a motor - maybe.... she is in better shape than mine and he'd love to have her...." BUT there is definitely a noise.

UPDATE: My F-I-L had to go have a look. We brought a buddy of his who said he used to be a mechanic. He's fairly certain it spun a rod bearing. The noise IS like a bearing going bad / hanging up periodically, but I'm not enough of an expert to say for sure. Given that is the problem, even after we talked about fixes, and having to pull the motor, my F-I-L wants this car (I mentioned she's mint, right...).

Rough estimates are 4,000 for a remanufactured motor and 1,000 to have it put in. Anyone think/know any different?? If those numbers are close, the car, with a new motor, is roughly 7 - 7500. That's not cost effective for re-sale, but if you're getting exactly what you want for that, well, that's a personal choice. I look at it as what else can you get that rivals the car you want for the same amount of money??

Still curious what others think, and if the motor estimates are close. Anyone have a thought?

 

XJ8 engines with 100 k miles go regularly for $2500 on fleabay. I wouldn't put one in for $1000, though!