Hi,

today I found a green pleate on my 1997 XK8 convertible, as in the picture. VIN SAJGX2746VC007699.

Does it mean my engine was replaced under warranty? Can anybody tell when and at what mileage? Is my engine "nicasil issue" free?

Thanks

Arek

 

Fair chance that it was a warranty replacement and that might mean that the Jaguar corporate data base would have a record of the work. If it was not a warranty repair then only the servicing dealer would have a record. The original serial number will determine the date of manufacture and answer the Nikasil question. The serial number will be in the yymmddhhmm format. The first steel sleeve engines appeared in August 2000.

 

The general consensus is that a Nikasil engine, if still in good condition, is no longer an issue, due to the improved quality of gasoline (less sulfur). Some speculate that a Nikasil engine is actually preferable compared to the steel lined (there was a reason that they used it in the first place, poor quality gas just had unforeseen issues and other luxury marques had similar issues)

I would be more concerned about secondary timing chain tensioners because an early replacement could potentially still have the early tensioners also.

 

Arek,

Mine was replaced on 4th January 2002 and the plate on mine says :
NCA 1002 BAE
1AJD 2087

There is also a dealer stamp in the front of the service booklet saying :
Engine replaced 04-01-02 at 64154 miles under Service Action S491 (which I believe was the Nikasil problem.)
Look on every page of the Service Book if you have it - it may be there somewhere.

 

Arek,

YES - that is a warranty rebuild plate. It confirms you have a rebuilt engine and need have no worries about nikasil. Any Jaguar Dealer can look up the details of your vehicle on the Direct Dealer Warranty System to determine when and which dealership did the replacement.

The nikasil affected engines were fitted within VIN range 001036 to 042775 inclusive.

Graham

 

Thank you for all the informations:-)

Unfortunately I don't have a Service Book, so no idea where and when it was replaced.

Will try to contact Polish dealership to get such info. I brought the car from the US, so I'm not sure if they work with the same database.....

Regards

Arek

 

Arek,

Nikasil was a major issue for Jaguar but it only affected pre-2000 models. The engine replacement will have been carried out early in the vehicle's life - almost certainly before 2001.

The Direct Dealer Warranty System is international and available to Jaguar Dealers anywhere in the World. All they need is the VIN to be able to find the original build specification for the vehicle and any warranty claims.

Graham

 

and here is the final answer:

a guy from Jaguar dealer in Warsaw kindly informed me, that my engine was replaced under warranty on 8th of April 2005, at 55.000 miles:-). So 7 years after manufacturing date!!!

That means the engine has made until now only 60.000 miles, as I got 115.000 miles in total. Not bad:-)

Good to know, that database of Jaguar works worldwide.

Regards

Arek

 

That seems very late for a warranty repair, did the know the reason.
I would have bet yours was older than Davids based on the AA/BA markings.
But you never know.