Hello everyone!

My name is Ryan and I am the new owner of a green 2000 XKR. I live in Raleigh, NC, which seems to be a hot-spot for XK owners; I have been reading a lot of helpful posts from Reverend Sam and Jon.

My XKR has 107k miles and its in very good shape inside and out. Two weeks after purchasing the car I took it to Flying Circus English Cars in Durham and had the secondary tensioners and water pump changed. I would have done the work myself, but I also have a 1987 Corvette that I am working on and the thought of having two motors apart at the same time didn't sit right with me :-)

I am posting tonight because of my cold cranking condition. She cranks very slow.. like an old man easing into a warm bath. When warm, the car cranks up very nicely.

As far as the engine goes, I realize August 18th is the production date where the nickel silicone (nikasil) motors ceased. My car came off of the assembly line in June 2000 and I am not aware of any engine changes, so I am scared this may be my problem.

Are there any other symptoms of a deteriorated nikasil lining? Could I be experiencing a weak battery or perhaps some other phenomenom?

Thanks in advance,
-Ryan

 

Welcome to the forums, Ryan. As you know by now, these cars consume massive amounts of battery power so a fully-capable battery is mandatory for trouble-free driving. Most batteries built in the past decade or so have their build month and year stamped into them or stickered on them. Sometimes that information is on the case, and sometimes it is stamped into the top of one of the terminals. Take a good look at your battery and see what you can discover. Check the water level in the cells and top up as necessary. You may want to have the battery tested, but it is well-known here that even batteries that test within proper limits have proven to be too weak to allow all of the electronics to function properly. I had to replace the factory battery in my wife's 2006 XK8 last week due to its inability to perform properly....

By the way, what is your impression of Flying Circus English Cars in Durham?

 

Welcome to the forum Ryan,

I'd also look to the battery first.

If a Nikasil issue hasn't turned up long ago, it's remote possibility now. In any event, the results of failure is blow by with loss of compression. Worn bores wouldn't have that kind of effect on cranking.

Graham

 

OF course it will do no harm to check the battery connections and ground as well.
There is a known problem with the crimps to the battery terminals.
Feel (carefully) to see if they're getting hot after cranking.
If you haven't got JTIS here's the power layout.
Check also the connections to the high power protection module (in the boot) and the false bulkhead connector.

 

Thanks guys! I suppose I am the 14,572nd person to fear that they are going to spontaneously go up in a fiery nikasil mushroom cloud.

My old car is a 1993 Lexus SC400. I put a beasty Optima battery in there that is rated for 1150 cold cranking amps. I could definitely put that in the XK. I just wish the Jag's battery would fit in the Lexus.. its huge!

When I purchased the car I was told the battery was fairly new. Next steps are to verify that, check the grounding, and clean up the connections @ the terminals.

I will update once that is complete!

Thanks again!

 

Oh yeah, about Flying Circus, I was very impressed. I must say, I have very little experience with mechanics, but I was more than impressed with their knowledge of the XK.

They've done "dozens" of secondary tensioner replacements, which I liked. They let me provide my own parts. I ended up getting everything from RockAuto and saving a lot of money.

I haven't noticed any negative effects or loose ends from the repair they performed. I would entrust them with the Jaguar again if necessary.

 

It's not Nikasil - with cylinder wash you get just the opposite no compression and she spins round like a young girl being chased by an old man getting out of the bath!

 

Good to know that Flying Circus English Cars will allow us to source our own parts. I have spoken with them by phone on a couple of occasions in years past while seeking knowledge pertaining to our S-Type and was always treated courteously....

 

That certainly does make more sense.


Here is the article that got me worried:
Jaguar XKR | Car Buying Guide | evo

"but if the car you are interested in still has a Nikasil engine it’s vital to check it carefully. Sluggish starting points to the problem – it’s likely to be due to low compression."

 

Right - bad wording - they mean taking a long time to start not slow cranking.