Type that in the search at the top of the Forum and set down for a while.

 

 

Palletman,

What CJD777 is trying to say, is that there is already lot of information in the Forum on buying advice for the XK8. Just use the Search in the top right.

The 1999 Jag XK8 has a sublime comfortable ride and is suited as a long distance Grand Tourer - driving with the top down as a perfect summer car. But it is now an old car (Generation 1 of 3) and will need a lot of maintenance. Either you must have a fat wallet, and/or time and skills in the garage to work on the car. It's a wonderful car, will attract a lot of attention, but like most beautiful things it will needs love, care, attention and your cash - for spare parts. It's can be described as an amateur mechanic's dream car as you also tinker with it to suit your tastes. Some jobs you can easily do, some you will need to have local mechanic. Depending on your skill level, your local garage mechanic may become your new best friend.

Here's a quick list of Dos and Don'ts when you first see the car.
1. Get a car history - hopefully previous owners will have done the major jobs like replacing the AJ26 with an AJ27 engine and the dreaded camshaft timing chain tensioners. If you're not sure what this tensioner job is, and have no record of it being done (it's a job to fear) - you should consider walking away. On the test drive, when you start the car, the symptom is that you hear a sound like a bicycle chain hitting the chain guard.

2. When approaching the car from a distance, are the panel gaps correct? Look for signs of front and rear crashes. Is the door window correct against the rear quarter glass. Are the hood rubber seals against the car door watertight. Is the hood material still viable, plus the rear view window sitting correctly. Crash damage is liveable so long as it was fixed correctly.

3. For me , the key to this car is the lovely V8 engine that should purrrrrrrr. If it's rough, that's fixable, but there should be no pinging or clunking noise, or extreme visible vibrations. When you pop the hood, look around closely with a torch. I always prefer to see a dirty engine bay, as oil leaks are visible. If it's been cleaned, I get suspicious. Check the cables in the bottom of the engine bay for signs of being coated in oil. The power steering hoses have been updated since the 1999 was released and follow a new route. Note that old cars tend to leak as the hoses/seals/gaskets have aged, but it should be to an acceptable level, that doesn't leave a puddle on the floor.

4. When you start the car, look at the exhaust gas - is it blue (oil leak in engine), or very white (water leak from head gasket) - if so, consider walking away unless you're happy to work on these (more jobs to fear).

5. Try to get under the car before you buy. Check for rust esp. on the bottom floor pan and in the lower door sills. Hopefully a previous owner will have undersealed the car.... ie it feels like rough rubber, but depending on the environment of the car, there may still be rust.

6. Car Interior - ah..... it's lovely esp. the wooden dash but a lot of the plastic bits may have aged badly. Expect to replace bits like the J-gate gear still cover and broken vents. The leather may also need conditioning but is do-able, so long as they aren't too far gone.

7. When you turn the key, always check that all warning lights come on and go out especially the engine warning light. Are there any warnings messages on the dash that stay on. "Driver Door open" or "bonnet open" messages should be displayed which tells you the console is working. Does the hood go up and down easy without any jerky actions - you're buying the car as a convertible so it should work. Check for green stains in the overhead centre light unit. It's a sign of a hydraulic leak at the hoses for the hood latch.

8. On the test drive, the thing to look out for is the wonderful automatic ZF5HP24 transmission which should shift gears seamlessly. Things to look out for are trouble pulling away from a standing start and/or trouble putting it in reverse (signs of potential A-Drum failure). Also shifting between gears at 3000rpm should be smooth, without any stutter. Renewal of the transmission will set you back easily USD2000 if you have a problem, and is a specialist job.

That's a short list of particulars. If you've had a lot of car buying experience, it's a simple common sense approach with particulars for the XK8. If you're not experienced with cars, this XK8 car may not be the one for you. Prices are down at the moment and are attractive. You get a lot of car for your money. A lot of people have had a lot of fun in the XK8 and I bought it as a home hobby mechanic. I still use it as a Daily Driver and put the car battery on a tender/trickly charger when not in regular use. As I said this car needs love, care, attention, and a fat wallet.

 

+1 on the chain tensioners comment..It's a big dollar job to replace them...something like $3500 where I live...if they fail, the engine is toast as I understand it.

 

Thom4782,
Hopefully the previous owner will have swapped the red plastic bodied tensioners with the new metal bodied ones with yellow runners, then there's nothing to worry about. The AJ-V8 is an interference engine where the pistons & valves occupy the same space separated only by the timing on the camshafts. If this goes wrong, the engine could be "toast" depending if you catch it early.

Car history is important to newcomers to the XK8.

Changing these tensioners out require a front engine rebuild which is a major undertaking and not for the faint hearted. In the world of hobby home mechanics, I have utmost respect for those who take this on, especially as the Jag XK8 doesn't have timing marks on the camshafts. Special tools are required.

 

Palletman, welcome. As written it appears that you have identified a 1999 vehicle and would like to know what to evaluate.

If you asked "what should I look for when buying an XK8" I'd answer differently. If you've found a vehicle, do you have a link or photos?

That notwithstanding, things I'd look at:

1) have timing chain tensioners been replaced? ( show me proof, as stated it's a big but mandatory job.)

2) work the steering wheel tilt & telescope switch. Verify it works. If not = negotiating item (you can fix it).

3) have shocks, bushes, ball joints been replaced? If not you'll be doing it. Budget/negotiate it

Each shock = $100
Upper ball joints around $40
Tie rod ends, also around $40 as I recall.
Tie rod, hard to remember, about $60?
Sway bar link & Bush $40 x 4 wheels.
lower ball joint & bushes a lot more expensive. Time and effort costs eclipse parts. Figure $400 - $500 on low aide.
90k miles = change tranny fluid $150

Tires? It'll take you days to read through opinions on best brand. If you want Pirelli stock tires = $300 x 4 plus peripheral expenses.

New windshield = $400

P, I'm so used to answering what should I look for instead of what should I look at. I took the perspective tally expenses and apply to price negotiations if applicable.

Hope it helps .

John

 

1999 engines were in the Nikasil era. This was a chemical used to harden the aluminum cylinder walls that apparently didn't stand up to well to some fuel additives. If this fails, the cylinder will lose compression as the cylinder walls wear, causing a loss of compression. Later engines have steel sleeves in the cylinders to avoid this problem. I would not buy this car without doing a compression check, unless you have a spare engine handy.

 

Stu46h,
Not many people do a compression test on the bores, esp. on a prospective low cost buy. Sound advice, so long as you have the kit handy.

Some time in the past, my 1999 had its engine changed from the AJ26 to AJ27 as, at the time, it was a raging engine issue on a luxury motor, with Jaguar. I hear that some engines were even changed/re-bored during their original warranty period.

Even if the Nikasil engine is still in the car, if the car drives well today, fuel nowadays have low controlled sulphur levels so I would hope that this 1999 XK8's engine will be ok.

 

@ David

We purchased a 99 XK8 last summer with 82K miles on it. We had a dealer receipt that showed a total engine replacement at 40K due to a tensioner failure, Even so, we had the local Jaguar independent shop verify that the replacement engine had the upgraded tensioners before we bought the car. We wouldn't have purchased it if the tensioners were the 99 style.

 

Thom, I know what you mean, but just want palletman to know it can be fixed after he buys the car. Budget $2-3k to do the job though a mechanic for negotiations. I had the seller take that off the price when I bought mine.

John

 

Welcome to the forum Palletman,

As you are "in the process of purchasing", you have already gone beyond the "what to look out for" stage. As a simple list, the main issues on the XK8 can be summarised:
1. engine - early plastic tensioners fail with catastrophic results
2. transmission - although not a scheduled service item. fluid and filter changes at around 70k mile intervals is shown to extend the life considerably
3. cooling system - a lot of plastic components and rubber hoses can and do fail. Overheating is a Jaguar V8 engine killer

Front suspension bushes are a regular wear item and, on the convertible, the hydraulic hoses are a known weakness.

Check this FAQ thread for details on all these and more:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ts-data-29800/

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some information about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

thanks

 

thanks very much this was very helpful. i will be checking better the next time I look at it

 

I agree - it makes no sense to walk away from a good car just because it needs some very common work doing on it. A 1999 car is 20 years old, so I don't suppose there are many about which need absolutely nothing doing to them.

If the car is fundamentally sound, budget for any work that needs to be done and negotiate an appropriate price. Bear in mind though that any 20 year old car, with or without known defects, is going to need money spending on it in the first few years of ownership.

 

 

If you cannot do the majority of the required ongoing maintenance and repairs yourself, walk away now. Paying someone else to fix these cars can quickly drain your checkbook....

 

If the head gasket has not been replaced it is waiting to let go. This model year has the composite gasket which deteriorates over time.

 

 

@Palletman,
Old cars tend to have a lot of work done to it. Don't trust the "matching numbers," as my 1999 car supposingly had a AJ26 engine, but be aware that a lot of the Gen 1 engines have been swapped/re-bored. In this forum, michaelh kindly led to me to the following post by Carnival Kid to visually see what type engine you have. I have an AJ27.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...4/#post1866618
Check it out. Car history is important. Thom4782 (comment 10 above) is right in his careful approach. If you don't have car history on this XK8, be very careful.

I'm with @Jon89, where if you don't have the willingness or skills to work on the car yourself, this one probably isn't for you. Leave the Gen 1 and 2 to the home hobby garage mechanics (someone like me), and you should source a 2004 or later Gen 3 model. Same exterior, just different interior (albeit with Ford's cheaper plastic fittings), but most of the serious problems will have been fixed, leaving you with just general maintenance of a 15 year old car.

There's a reason market values for the earlier XK8s are low. Gen 3 model values are better mechanically, and the car is intrinsically the same.