Good evening ladies and Gents and a Marry Christmas to all.

I have been gone from this board for a while working on may different things.. some of which i will share with you. In the process i have started my own company to harness the knowledge i have learned from the process for the betterment of all on the Jaguar world.

First off, i my engine decided to call it quits... so i was forced with a decision..

Option A: Stock re-manufactured engine
Option B: New Engine from Jag at a absolutely laughable price.
Option C: Rebuild my engine with performance mod's and reliability improvements.

Well i decided on Option C.
First off, i do not like the idea of steel liners. The nikasil liners are in my opinion a much better fit for our cars and without high sulfur fuels which are now standard in the states, in my opinion the cost of relining is far out shadowed by the benefits. The engine had 105,000 miles on it at time of rebuild. This turned into a bit of a challenge as this is uncharted territory and required the block to have several return visits to the lining company This requires extensive preparation of the block and is not a easy send it off and its done kind of thing.... In the end I am vary happy with the result. Below is a before and after pic. Block was decked after relining (not shown).






One of the results of this was the need for custom rings due to the variations in cylinder wall thickness that cannot be avoided due to the relining process. I teamed up with Total Seal to create a properly sized set for this one of a kind engine. To make it even more fun.. I decided to throw in the mix ceramic Gold Coat by Swain Tech on the pistons tops and side skirts. This made for precision tolerances. Lets just say it was tight!



The cylinder heads were in a for a refreshening as well.. Valves were retained, guides, seals, springs, and keepers were replaced. Combustion chamber was ceramic coated by swain tech as well as valve faces and exhaust ports. This allows for maximum heat control and heat direction into the combustion. And of course we had to top them off with Cometic MLS head gaskets. I also had the stock exhaust manifolds White Lightning coated by swain tech as well.





As for the bottom end.. I ran right into one big issue.. the stock connecting rod bolts are stretch type one time use units. Jag wants WAY WAY to much money for these... with some assistance from ARP we came up with a good solution.. how about some ARP2000 bolts.. The Next issue was the oil pump. The stock pump was ditched by Jag for failure issues. Proceeding models also included spray holes for spraying oil on the timing chain assemblies. Installation of a 2009 4.2 oil pump is not only possible, it works! It does require modification to the upper oil pan/sump as well as the block itself.




This engine is not only complete but runs fantastic. I ran into many many obstacles with this rebuild.. And there is many many details i have not said in this post. In the process I have unlocked a few closed doors that jaguar has locked on us. In 2013 my company will be applying for vendor status on the board and will be making several exciting items available for sale including the following...

ARP rod bolts
Nikasil block reline with matching custom total seal rings.
And much much more..

After the rebuild was complete... she made the stock rear differential go BANG before she made it to the dyno. Sooo... I am working on some exciting things for that as well... stay tuned..

 

Wow that sounds awesome - what a project - well done!!!

 

Thanks for the interesting write-up.
I'm getting 'invalid attachment' for all your pics although the URLs look OK.

 

+1 I can't open the pictures either.

 

Sounds like a project I would like to know a LOT more about. Congratulations to you for taking this on, acting as a point man for those behind you.

Next step, PLEASE get those photo uploads fixed...I use photobucket.com for my forum uploads, btw...free and never a problem (so far) with visibility.


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Well done, no pics for me either!

 

My apologizes.. It should be fixed now for all.

This engine was also fully balanced. The main purpose for this rebuild was to create a strong semi stock platform for the creation of performance addition's that can be resold in a fashion that will not brake the bank. Camshafts, new top mount intercoolers. As well as find out if a reline was possible at the same time as fixing all the stock weaknesses

But one project at a time... We all need a good option for a stronger differential with limited slip... right??? :-)

 

Great project and great photos. I had always wished I had the time, money, tools, etc. to devote to something like that.

Doug

 

My goal is to make it so you don't need the time or the tools. Only the $$

 

Never having seen one torn down to this degree, I have a sort of novice question.

Are all the main caps integrated into one big skirt that bolts to the rest of the block as a single unit?

 

yes sir that is correct.

 

To say these things are well built is putting it mildly. Explains why I've never heard of someone breaking the bottom end of an AJ V8.

 

Truly awesome pictures and an amazing piece of work. Hope I never have to see my engine in that kind of detail, but fascinating to look at.

Thanks, and I assume you'll let everyone know as various products become available.

 

Yes sir. As soon as they become available I will let you all know

 

Nice pictures.

In the last picture showing the oil pump, is that a hex threaded plug at the end of the oil pressure relief passage?

 

Great to see the photos now.

I have so many questions, I don't even know where to start. My hope is that you will document this all somehow in a comprehensive form that we can all look at and learn from. And YES, if you're contemplating a business that allows guys like us to refurbish and tweak these great engines...and if you're doing top-quality work...you've likely got a future customer in me.

One question for now...what happened to your original engine? What killed it?


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That's really great what you've done. My only concern would be the total price... if it comes close to what it would cost for the LS crate motor and manual transmission conversion, I'd probably rather do that.

Have you dyno'd the new motor yet? What did you get?

 

It had a few issues, most notably both head gasket's where failing and causing erratic compression reads on some and way to low of compression on another. It also had one cylinder that had a good seal on the head gasket but had low compression from the dreaded nikasil failure that was just starting to become a issue. And to top it all off i had the driver side intercooler leaking coolant into the number 6 combustion chamber. Luckily i caught it before any catastrophic damage was done.

With all that wrong, it still made 304RWH.

 

There was allot of extra money spent on this project due to the fact that it is mostly uncharted territory that Jag does not want us to explore. After going over the numbers it should be much more affordable to do this then do a swap IF... and i stress IF you have a good core to work with. An old tired motor that still runs will cost many many thousands less to rebuild then one that has had severe damage to do parts failure. You do not want to replace a block or crank on one of these engines. When i am ready i will let y'all know specifics. Like i said in my first post, it will be some time next year.

Before the engine went out on me it was getting 304 RWP on the dyno. As i was saying.. the rear differential (carrier assembly) lost a tooth on the pinion gear on the way to the dyno. So i am working on a direct bolt in swap of a different differential with limited slip that utilizes all new gears, LS unit, seals and custom built flange for direct bolt in replacement of the stock week unit. More info to come as this project is not complete yet and will be made available for sale soon.

 

Verry Nice,
Wish I had the time 2 do simillar on my 98 xk8. Still sitting at the garage with a crap engine. I'm really thinking about going all out and finding a Chevy 350 with a 6-71 and twin throttleboddies....... Would kill the streets here in Kuwait. Hope 2 see more about Engine rebuild components tho if I keep the factory 4.0L