Hello guys,

I'm not in the market for an engine right now, but since I'm going to keep this car to my last breath, I know I'll have to either rebuild mine or purchase a rebuilt engine someday.

I see a lot on this forum about buying USED engines, but we almost never talk about REBUILT engines, at least that I've seen. I was doing a bit of web surfing this morning, and came across the link below. Looks interesting to a novice like me, and the pricing is lower than I've seen for many engines that have NOT been rebuilt.

Completely Rebuilt XK8 Engine, $ 2295 (with a few photos)

I'd love to know what our techs and real engine guys think about this.


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I'm not an engine rebuilder nor even a top-notch shade-tree mechanic, but I do have another aspect for consideration here that you may not have thought about....

I'll stock up on oil, filters, and basic maintenance items all day long when the various buy-one-get-one-free deals are periodically in effect. But I would never spend thousands of dollars on a spare engine. Part of it is economics, but the bigger part of it is due to factors beyond my control. My wife could be cruising along in her beloved XK8 and out of the blue, some moron yapping and texting on a cell phone could rear-end her or worse. Due to the high repair costs of these cars, we all know that it doesn't take much to total them in an accident. I would hate to purchase a $3,000 engine just because I may need it ten years from now, and then six months later the car is totalled due to no fault of our own....

To each his own when it comes to stocking parts for a car that you THINK you'll own forever. That may be your well-intentioned plan, but some idiot could completely ruin that plan in a heartbeat....

 

I found this place online when I was looking for a place to get a rebuilt engine if I needed it the 10 yr warrenty and 100,000 mile part caught my eye. I did not check out the price I would expect it to be higher since it isn't listed. 2001 JAGUAR XKR ENGINE - 1 Jaguar 244 CID,4 L Engine Block with 10-Year Warranty!

 

Yeah, I'm not considering buying this engine. And truth is, when the time comes, I'll be hoping to rebuild the engine I've got, rather than buy another. First, I'd like to keep the original engine in the car. Second, according to the stamped number on the engine block, my engine was built on my birthday, and of course that means the car and I were meant to be.

I'm really just interested in a discussion on the REBUILDING of our engines, and pricing. I haven't seen any discussion here on the merits, pitfalls, etc of rebuilding these engines. As for pricing, Motorcars LTD is advertising rebuilt XK8 engines at $ 5,900...more than twice the price of the link below.


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Here is a non flattering list of dissatisfied customers

Ripoff Report | 123engine Complaint Review Canoga Park, California: 659090

 

My 2 cents: rebuilt, either DIY or by your own mechanic, is much better. You know and control what is done and what goes in for parts. A used motor will likely need something anyway, might as well do it all while you're in there.

Peace of mind is worth a lot, IMHO.

 

Wow... there is some major venom out there for those guys. Thanks for posting that link.

But let's keep the discussion going... what are the best options for a high quality REBUILD of our engines? I find very little information out there.


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I have had a couple of engines rebuilt. (not for my Jag)

I agree with others in that you need someone local who will stand behind their work. If you buy an engine and have it put in, and then develop problems with it, what are you going to do, have it pulled out and sent back? Just not worth the time and risk. A local guy will have to stand behind his work for whatever sort of warranty you get, and if push comes to shove and a legal proceeding, he is local, not in some far away state.

 

I think we are agreed on that.
What The Coupe is driving at, I think, is what rebuild options are available assuming you have a shop lined up.
Can you find undersize shells if the crank is ground, oversize pistons / replacement liners etc?

 

I will be buying another 4.2 for my car, early next year. I will have the Jag techs take it down and completely rebuild it with the best parts and balance it. Sure, it'll get a little porting, too, and maybe some fancy heads. They do the engine work as fill in work over the following year or so.

That way, when my current motor goes, "POOF!" someday, I've got a quick replacement sitting on my own shelf, ready to go.

It will cost about $14,000 to have this done, on TOP of the engine cost. It will be a long lasting engine that will idle incredibly smoothly. Worth every penny over the miles that I'll get out of it.

The same will be done to the engine that it replaces so that the car always has quick access to a fresh 'heart'.

 

Just off the top of me head I don't see how those guys with the $2295 engine could do all they claim and make any money. There is some corner cutting somewhere.
Back in the day (early 1970s) you could buy complete Jag 4.2 engine rebuild kits from JC Whitney at very reasonable prices. Even at that you had to source quite a bit from Jag but that was before OEM automotive parts prices went completely nuts. Mind you that was 1949 technology with state of the art induction pieces.
That was then. This is now and there ain't no free lunch. My gut tells me that a modern 1st class Jag engine rebuild will cost you near at $2k in parts and machine shops service alone.
Has anybody actually added up the parts and machine shop charges on a project of this type?

 

I agree, I don't know how they could make money at that price, either. Of course, the online reviews of that particular shop are nearly unanimous in saying that they are rip-off artists.

But for the larger topic at hand, I'd like to know more about the resources for rebuilds of our engines...who's doing them well, where are they getting top-quality parts, pistons, etc?

If we were running Chevy LS-series engines, there are countless books, websites, youtube videos and gumball machines dispensing information on how to rebuild them. When I poke around for information on rebuilding our engines, I find very little.


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I read on the net that there are some people out here who swap their Jaguar engines (particularly on the first gen of XK8s) with GM LS* engines at a much lower cost than it would cost to rebuilt the original engine. Are there any advantages of going that way or is it a big "NO-NO"?

 

Did any of your "Cars I owned in the past that are worthy of mention" from your sig line have a GM motor in them?

If you want a sporty, 2-seat car with a GM motor, buy a Camaro. The Jag engine is one reason to own the XK8/R.

 

That would catch my eye too, as a scam. You won't get a 10 year warranty for anything in the auto industry unless you pay a ton for some kind of aftermarket service agreement, which over that 10 year span would cost you more than just buying a replacement.

 

I wouldn't be so quick to discount the installation of an "alternate" power plant in a Jag. It has a long an honorable tradition among Jag owners who wanted more life out of treasured old cars, otherwise headed for the scrap yard.

Back in the day before Jag discovered "torque" and the need of American drivers for low 0 to 60 times as opposed to very high speed top ends it was a good way to go. Given the scarcity of good used/rebuilt Jag engines and the ready availability of LS engines there may still a demand for transplants.

In fact, there used to be several outfits, here in the states, that specialized in selling components/instruction to accomplish transplants. I can't attest how prevalent the practice is these days, what with all the systems of the car tied into computers/ICUs, etc. but it wouldn't surprise me to hear about people still doing it.

 

You are correct in that it is still being done and that there are several reputable companies that will facilitate the swap. John's Cars here in Dallas has been offering kits and whole swaps for over 20 years, mostly for XJ's.

There is certainly something to be said for saving a nice car that would otherwise be crushed, and no question that it could be made faster and parts more available. Having said that, my personal opinion still says no. It is no longer a true Jaguar. The engine in our XK's is a Jag design and execution, despite the Ford financing.

Engines for our cars are still available, but to each their own. The point is to drive something you like and that makes you feel good each time you get in and start it up. And there is a lot of good to be said about American V8s.

 

You can buy a complete low miles Corvette C6 for 5-10,000 as a salvage pretty easily.

I would swap that running gear into my older jag without batting an eye.

As for putting a chevy engine in the xk8, think about the longevity you would get by having a non AJ6 engine. No persistent worries about tensioners and plastic parts!

 

Jag#4, you're obviously a Jaguar purist and I'm cool with it. I simply asked a question on a forum where such questions are encouraged to be asked. Surely not everyone can afford to spend 10K + on a Jaguar engine replacement when the car itself as a whole maybe worth less than that (early models). Perhaps if its a difference between scrapping a car or spending 3K-5K on a Chevy engine+tranny and get 0-60 in mid 4 seconds as a result, is not as terrible as it sounds. Also, if people followed your implied reasoning, there would be no aftermarket products made for our cars. How many people on this forum replaced their wheels, exhaust, superchargers, suspension parts ..., with products that are not manufactured by Jaguar? A lot. It does not mean that their car is no longer a Jaguar.
And to answer your question, none of my cars in the sig line had a GM engine in them.

 

Not a purist and I didn't mean for my response to sound like it. These are cars meant to be driven in the real world. You asked a valid question and I only gave my opinion. And I truly hope I did not give you a reason to take offense.

Lots of aftermarket parts and bits are very valid and have a place on these cars. Exhaust upgrades, S/C pulleys, upgraded lighting, etc., etc. But for me, the engine is the exception. Full replacement takes away from the experience, but as I noted earlier, it beats sending a perfectly good body to the crusher.