Well, after overheating in June and months of tracking down why. I need to replace the engine in my 2015 S. Looking around at options - Dealer $26.5k Used and a shop ~ $12k. I came across a reman engine from Tapa Jaguar and Land Rover Engines in California. They supposedly update the cylinder sleeves and the timing chains to make the engine more robust - for $10K. Has anyone here used them - I want to get a warmer fuzzy before forking over 10 large for a possible scam.

 

I'm not sure how much feedback you are going to get, as there haven't been (at least on this forum) a lot of engine replacements.

 

Yeah, I was afraid of that. Didn't see much in my searches.

A bit of advice - every oil change check the water pump for leaks

 

When the 'Coolant Low' warning appears on the instrument cluster, stop the engine immediately and determine the cause. Engine replacement is the result if the warning is ignored.

 

I pulled over within 20 seconds and shut the engine off. Still wasn't enough

EDIT: I should say I pulled over in 20 seconds after a overtemp warning, so yeah definitely if low coolant shows up turn off and get it looked at

 

I killed a v8 in this fashion. Coolant pipe broke. Message on dash. Pulled over. Game over.

I paid 11k for a used motor from a Range Rover. Had my shop replace coolant pipes, injectors, sc coupler, motor mounts before installing. was 23k out the door.

Good luck, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

 

What did you end up doing?

 

Sorry I took so long to respond - I was overseas and didn't see this until now.

So I went with Tapa. $13K with updated pistons. Came with a year and 12K miles warranty. Spent about $19K installed.

About 6.5 months into it, I started to hear a weird light tapping noise between 2.5-3K RPM. Not too concerned at first. Over the next few months it was getting pronounced - to the point that I can make it happen at will. I was religious about oil changes (I always am) at 5000 mile intervals. Definitely had a valve tap sound to it. Shop was convinced it was definitely an upper section (head) noise. I contacted Tapa to ask what we should do about it. We had some back and forth and he called the shop after I took it in. Suggested oil change and various other things we were pretty sure weren't going to help. Just when I thought they may not honor the warranty - Keith, the owner, called me and he said they were going to send a new one to my shop in Maryland. To their credit they stepped up and made it right. As a bonus this one is bored out .05 and I get approx 50 more horsies outta it. He didn't charge me shipping, I was responsible for install costs ~5K, but I knew that wasn't covered going in. Strange thing was, as I was taking it to the shop, it began to make a horrendous noise - pretty sure the valve dropped into the cylinder.

They say to use Mobil 1 5W-20 for oil. I don't usually like to stray from factory recommendations but seeing as the valve dropped on the last one - I don't want to stray.

I have about 2500 miles on the new engine and so far so good. I changed the oil at 100 and then 1000 miles to make sure the metal from machining is clear. Engine number 3 for the old girl, so I do a sign of the cross before I hit that orange start button.

 

Thanks for reporting on the TAPA rebuilds. They list a number of internal upgrades which all sounded great but I had never read of anyone that had installed one of their engines. Sorry it went bad but the vendor seems like a stand up guy and came thru for you!
Hopefully someone will purchase the 5.0L version and report back?

Here is the EBay listing if you want to look at what they do.
Rebuilt 3.0L SC Engine
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If I recall correctly, if the rebuild says "update the cylinder sleeves and the timing chains," it came from a vehicle that predates the F-Type and presumably had enough miles on it to make the timing chain replacement worthwhile. It doesn't mean it's necessarily a bad engine, but increases the odds you'll be doing it again (ad exemplum).

 

wow, yeah I spoke with Tapa engines. They’re very near me maybe only three or 4 miles away here in Valencia California. I spoke with Keith at length about the overheating problems cause I’m had. I had the same problem on my 16 XJL and you know he basically he was saying at the end is probably done and he was quoting me around the same amount of money, that’s all he does though is remanufacture engines so I would say that they run good. I read some good reviews about him but you know 12 K I mean my car barely worth that amount so I don’t know barbershop you’re gonna get a haircut.
good luck!

 

keiths engines are a joke piece of **** engines. I had 2 of his fail on me. Go with rover parts depot their warranty is twice as long, 2year and unlimited miles. No comparison

 

Yeah my 2nd one has a little more than 30K ( a lot of highway), has medium tapping on startup and I just towed it to the shop for a coolant leak. We'll see what that is. If its another head gasket I might just Viking funeral the car.

I put about 1/3 of a gallon in it the second week of June and this week another 1/3 gallon. Its enough to set off the low coolant level.

 

I lucked out - its the notorious pipe under the supercharger. Dodged a bullet this time.