can I replace my 97 4.0 l in my xk8 with a 98 xjr supercharged motor .
There's a 98 XJR on craigslist in my area .
thanks Don

 

In a word...no. The ECU is different, the transmission is different, ditto wiring harness. Many other issues.

 

You may be a perfect candidate for an LS1 swap. Jaguar Specialties

 

I already looked into the ls thing ,paided the $300 for the book . I'm not a fan , There's some critical info one needs to know when looking at that , but I don't want to get into that ! anyone wants to talk about it can pm me .

 

no no and no on they question of swapping. Do the LSx swap, can't be any more issues then trying to deal with a used jag motor.

 

That's for the info on the XJR swap , that's why I asked !
what are the choices to replace a nikasel 97 4.0l , later 4.2 maybe .
my 4L runs ,however the intake is always full of oil ,if I get on it , it blows the dipstick out ,made a mess . spark plug holes are always filling up with oil ,sometimes hard to start .
I think this is all blow by related. I'll do a compression test before I do anything major

 

4.2 won't work either, wiring and computer differences. I'd think you could find a nice 4.0 still.

 

I don't have a problem with just a straight 4L replacement . what am I looking for to stay away from nikacel. in other words what #'s a good 4L replacement ?

 

for the LS guys , have you REALLY looked at it ?

 

I ran into a situation 20 years ago when looking into a Cobra kit car. Turns out that the company had more revenue from selling their catalog than from their kits. 'Jaguars that Run' manuals on conversions of '90's Jaguar with Small Block Chevy engines was much the same.

Bottom line is that such a conversion is going to cost twice what you might wish for. I have been through it as a retired hobby mechanic that had restored a couple cars and felt fully qualified to do an engine swap.

I have nothing negative against Jaguar Specialties but it is just not easy.

 

or cheap!!
Very well said test point !
wanna buy a book , LOL ?

 

I already had the LS motor ,4L60e .convertor ,and the book ,,,then bailed! Glad I quit at that !

 

Don't be afraid of Nikasil- its good stuff that got a bad name because of a few issues. I CHOSE a nikasil short block to put in my XK convertible and built it up as an AJ27 runs great, no issues.

 

I don't completely disagree with you Dsnyder, so how do you evaluate a used short block , mileage , comp test ?
do my symtems sound like a worn out nik motor ? car has 87000 miles on motor

 

OOOK.... So I had two sets of mechanics look at the Jaguar Specialties solution, met with them myself (used to live within a few miles of them) and have corresponded with one of the folks that did the swap. I'm an ex Jaguar mechanic myself. Far easier than any other swap I've seen on a modern car, in line with changing out the engines in terms of difficulty, and you end up with a car that is far easier to service and potentially far faster (just more kit for an LSx engine). Only reason I didn't do it is it won't work on my 2004. It isn't even all that expensive and you can find tons of LSx engines and transmissions cheap, oh, and you can even go manual if you want. But if you want easy and cheap, just buy another XK8 in better shape the cars are dirt cheap and far less expensive than any engine swap is likely to cost you.

 

Do you know what exactly you need for a motor. ? Which intake . Oil pan , exhaust manifolds . What exactly comes in the kit and what you have to source out . How much do you think this conversion would cost ? Like I said I had the motor. ,Trans .and then I bought the book .
Look . I'm a profession mechanic . I'm typing this at a shop . I'm not saying this can't be done , and if a guy really wants to , go for it . However it's not a resonable answer to repairing the car.

 

From all that I have read over the years here it's very unlikely a Nikasil block will ever wear out. In the early years high sulfur fuel destroyed the liners and motorcarman has said that overheating can also do so.

The symptoms you have observed do sound like severe blowbye and a leakdown test should confirm, or even a compression check. You might consider using a boroscope to examine the linings.

 

Not anymore, but you can just call them up and they'll even point you to some mechanics that have done it. The ones I spoke with said the process was surprisingly easy. The ones I've seen mostly took LS1s from GTOs I think. There are a number of videos on YouTube with completed cars. One guy put a really ugly hood on his car for some screwy reason (think had a high profile blower which was kind of silly but showcases the range you can get with this common engine in terms of performance mods).

 

I bought my LS1/T56 to do an NA Miata conversion. The Jag Specialties Kit appears way easier than any of the Miata LS1 DIY kits.


For a replacement motor, there are lots of wrecked 4.0L jags around here in Texas.

 

Enderle I'm not saying it can't be done or it's a bad swap . I'm just saying it's a LOT more than meets the eye ! I've seen the vids , talked many times to Andrew , one of his customers that have done the swap . I got to a point of needing specific info . That's when you need to buy the $300 book . THEN you learn what's really involved . I bailed at that point because I relized it was going to cost me a lot more than I thought , and was ALOT more involved than I wanted to get into .