it's true .. i work at a a dealer.. and we use to do tons of engines.. ive done almost 25 just for nikasil... but my customers.. who still have this engines.. there the ones who actually take care of the engine.. with oil changes.. charge there battery.. they let there engines warm up never just drive it cold then park it.. all these things help.. keep your engine in good shape.. and the fuel you use.. less sulfur the better.. and the highest quality gas must always be used...

 

I have a truth. Nikasil sucks.
What is your price range for the car bumperquip? Might be better stretching to a 2003 XK. Has the 4.2 and six speed ZF. If you let us know the price range, can better assist you.

 

nikasil was sweet all those engines and all that pay lol.. i miss those days .

 

Man we got so many 97 and 98 XKs still coming in looking like brand new with 30k or 40k. I tell them to drive them more...lol. Need the work.

 

The Nikasil liners and high sulpher content gasoline was a very real problem. However, the cause of the problem, the high sulpher content in gas, has been minimized by Federal legislation. Consequently,today the problem is not as severe, nor prevalent as it was ten years ago.

I just bought a '97 w/65k miles for $13,700. It has an original engine. Like you, I was very concerned. However,after I fixedsome vacuum hose issues it now runslike a champ, and my concern about cylinder wall lining material hasdisappeared.

Mylogic in buying a nikasilcar wasif the enginehas made it this far without damage, itwill be OK going forward as long as high quality fuels are used. Obviously, there are some liner cars with prior partial damage to cylinder walls out there on the used car lots.These engines arenot damagedenough to warrant a replacement motor;but they are still bad enough that I don't want to own one.

Howeever, the negative effects of nikasil can be determined by a compression check. Therefore,if you find a car youlike, and want ot be certain it is OK regarding nikasil... Simply perform a compression check on the vehicle before you buy it.

Otherwise, I personally don't worry about it anymore. The niksill liner itself is a great idea; lots of manufacturers used them, Porsche is one that comes to mind. It's the gas which caused all the problems. So rather than worry becauseI have a nikasil car, I worry about what kind of gas I put in it. And that is a caution I concern myself withon allthecars I own. gordo.

 

I had all the same questions when I first went looking for a XK8/R. After reading all, and I do mean all, the information that I could find on the subject here is my opinion(s). Nikasil was a problem early on due to sulfur in the fuel, poor maintainance, and cold/short driving habits. The conversion to steel liners occurred about August 2000. If a Nikasil car has survived until now without significant blowby and corresponding compression problems it is probably as reliable as a steel sleeve one. If you are still concerned buy one with a manufacture date after 8/2000.

There is a very positive side to the issue: the reputation of significant engine problems has significantly depressed the market price of these cars far beyond what is reasonable. This put a really great auto within the price range that I had established for a toy car.

I found a 2000my (11/1999 build date) XK8 with 106k miles, in really good condition,that had had all the 'normal' problems, including transmission,fixed under warranty for about $8k under KBB retail. The more I explored it after purchase the better it got. Compression was 155 plus/minus on all cylinders and it ran perfectly. The biggest problem Isee in these vehicles is that if you cannot, or choose not, to work on them yourself you can spend a great deal of money at the dealer or independent shop.

As stated in a post above there are a large number of cars out there with 30, 40, 50k miles at really great prices. Documenting the repair history, especially those with extended Jaguar warranties is easy. Find the best car for the money you choose to spend and enjoy it!

The best part is that you acquire a couple hundred new best friends on the Jaguar forums.

 

I'd definately go that route! Perhaps pay them another $125 or so (diagnostic charge) to have them do a go-over on the car, run a code search on her to see what shows up, check suspension parts visually, door latches, etc. At this point, they are simply a third party giving you advice. I'd consider that too if you bring it in for the compression test. Try to be patient, don't just jump at the first car that you sit in; if you have to turn one down to get one of better quality, it will be worth your extra time. Remember, prices are always negotiable.

 

I consider the $104 a fair price to put your concerns at rest on the Nikasil issue. If compression is good just forget about it.

I know you have done your research and I certainly would not want to offend you but I would offer the following:
Tensioners replaced?
Water Pump Replaced?
Thermostat replaced?
Any sign ofabnormal tire wear? Lots of items under this heading, any unusual wear and you need to know exactly why
All keys/remotes provided? (ask the dealer what a new key costs!)
Owner handbooks provided with leather folio?
All electrical functioning? all lights, windows, radio, aerial, mirrors, steering wheel up/down- in/out. Does the passenger seat operate? (there is a reasonforthat question), memory functions work?
A/C fully functional? Heater works?
Exercise the transmission well
Coupe? right?another list for convertibles

If you are paying a dealer to check out the compression consider having them read all DTC codes also.

In my area, for that money, the paint/interior should be very good.

A complete repair/warranty report should be available from any dealer. They won't give you repair invoices without a release from the owner(s) but you should be able to get a printout of all dealer repairs. Of course, independent shops will not show.

You will enjoy that car, I promise, as long as you don't have to spend $2k, unexpectedly, in the first 2 months after purchase. The car I purchased, from the second owner, had $11,245 in extended warranty work done in 19k miles. When the warrany expired and hegot an estimate of $700 for a MAFS replacement I got to buy the car, at a significant discount, with all the above already done. (except for the passenger seat).

 

700 for MAF is pretty steep.

 

Especially when the problem was a split in the bellows section of the ductwork. Got a copy of the quote on it.

 

No stupid questions. That's why we are all here!

The comment was made above that there is always another, perhaps better,car out there. I got the same advice last Summer after I got really hot after the first opportunity that presented itself. I took that advice and spent 6 months finding a really great deal on a reallygreat car.

Best of luck in your search.

 

Bumperquip... What sort of Turbo cars did you have?

 

I love the palm trees....sometimes though I just want to rip em out of the ground. Heard that is a crime in FL though, so I just leave em alone.....lol

 

A bunch of us are in Florida. I am in Ormond Beach, FJT is south near West Palm (I think), and there are some others on the other two prominant forums.

Regarding your XK8 search... As you can obviously work on cars, I wouldnt be too shy about gettingone in less than pristine condition if the price reflects its poor condition.Alot of sellersare not able repair their cars, and dealers, as always, arevery expensive to use for relatively simple procedures. As was pointed out earlier in this thread, these cars are already way undervalued because buyers are afraid of the car's expensive reputation.

The nikasil liner issue is something to be concerned about, but if you can find one with a good engine/trans combo, the rest of the driveline is pretty straight forward. I focused on a solid rust free body, good top and interior. I ended up buying one in AZ and shipping it back to FL. The car looks brand new! And when I tell people I paid less than $14K their eyes bug out.

Like most forums, there is an abundance of technical expertise here. So far the only shortcoming to working on them has been the fact Jag employs a lot of speciality tools to fix their cars. Often there is no real engineering reason, other than it appears they just didn't have the hobbyist mechanic in mind when designing some of these systems.

The only 'surprise' was how big and heavy the car is. I laugh to myself when I see threads from peopletrying to turn a classicboulevard cruiserinto a tiger sports car. The car is BIG, stock it sits TALL, they weigh close to two tons. Except for the superccharger, the motor has no quick HP upgrades, etc. etc. After riding around in atwitchy light car withbig turbos, it is very pleasant to get into a genuine Grand Tourer and cruise. I love the cat's long legs when they canstretch out and run on the highway. It loafs along under 2k rpm and is very responsive, and deceptively fast. What I most like is how quiet, and very comfortable it is to drive. It is the perfectanti-sports car remedy.

Re: Turbos a la RX7 and 300ZX... Yeah they can get nasty sometimes. Mine has downpipes, testpipes, Intake and Borla. Freeflow all the way. Boost has been bumped upfrom 9.5 lbs to 16 lbs providingan increase at the crank HP from 300 stock HP to around 400. As you are well aware, the power is NOT linear, andeverything comes on quick after 3500 rpm. If you floor it... you better have those front wheels pointed pretty much straight ahead or the back end will come around and bite you on the *** faster than you can say barometric!

Good luck on the search. gordo