I'm thinking of purchasing an XJ8 which I can get for a steal,but here's the deal...... Interior and exterior looks great but car has typical timing chain issues. Not sure if it's even worth trying to replace the timing chain,engine,or possibly consider doing some sort of engine swap ( maybe a GM LS? ). I'll be doing most of the work myself so labor costs will be next to zero,just the money being spent on parts. I'm familiar with the issues of the X300,but are there other issues to look out for in the X308 models other than the typical timing chain tensioners going bad. The owner said the timing chain is broken,so what are my best options : Repair,replace,or swap?

 

timing chains aren't so bad if it's only replacing chains/tensioners/guides. If a chain is broken and not just loose it's possible the valves could be bent or other things. If the car ran and just made noise when it was last started you will probably be okay, but don't take my word for it, or the seller's... Though you want to avoid starting a car with timing issues since it could skip teeth and get worse.

Other issues, water pump has plastic impeller that breaks, tstat gets sticky, the tstat tower on NA models degrades since it's plastic. All those are easy to address when doing tensioners. NA models have issues with the transmissions having pressure spikes which blow out drum seals requiring a transmission rebuild. Those are the big ones that will get you. Aside from that there's lots of suspension rubber bits which like to wear pretty quickly.

You really want an R, as it has a metal tstat housing and a much more reliable transmission, and the supercharger which the xj8 is missing

LS swaps have been done lots of times, it will be more labor intensive than tensioners IF the jag heads and valves are good. If not, then you'd be pulling heads, and so on... There's lots of threads here of people who have done LS swaps so you can read those to get an idea.

 

Well,got in touch with the owner of the car today. He mentioned that it was one of the links to the chain that broke and instead of selling it as a complete car that they were going to part it out. Another good car won't see the light of day!