Hi ,
Very new to the site, I've just allowed myself to start looking at Jaguars again, after 6 years of exile, great site lots of great information on everything. Nice to find somewhere I can source parts, I live in eastern Canada and except for going to the dealer I was on my own, thank God for the internet. Anyway I was orginally looking for a 98-2000 xj8 but after reading posts on engine failure I was starting to lean back towards a xj6. Then I've just discovered a xjr 1998 in my own backyard so to speak. Its got 211,000 k on it, so I know its been driven and I haven't gone to see it yet, but before I went to look, I figured I would ask 1 question from you guys. With the problems with the cylinder walls and the chain tensioners a car with this many kilometers would I'm guessing either have the work done, or will be lacking in compression, any thoughts? Thanks.

 

I am in the (small) camp that thinks the Nikasil blocks are a great bargain (unless they go bad). Nikasil is superior to iron in terms of wear (they use it in race cars), and Porsche has used Alusil (same process different brand name) for decades without incident. A compression/leakdown (leakdown is the more important part) can tell you if the engine and car are still viable. *Don't let someone only do the compression test, the leakdown which shows pressure loss in the cylinder is the true test for wear*. This sould be about $200.
for the Chain/tensioners inspecting the top tensioners should at least tell you if they are Gen I or not, and indicate if they were replaced. Even if they were replaced you can look for premature wear, or if the Gen II (still plastic, but better) or Gen III Almost all metal (best) have been used. -Now the bad part, they could have replaced the top ones, but not the bottom ones. That would be the unknown. Inspecting the lowers would be significantly more expensive. Call a dealer and ask what a PPI (pre purchase inspection) would run. Ask that they check the items above, and the transmission, and computer for fault codes. Anything else you should be able to pick up on just by looking at it. (ie, the bumper fell off) I would think that for about $500 you could (with come certainty) have a good idea what shape the car is in. Then again, you are buying an old high performance car that has the ability to bleed you dry in repairs. If you do get it, make sure you get it real cheap, because with an old car you will need money to replace things.
Hope this helps to make up your mind.