Hi everyone. I recently sold a Range Rover Sport and received a couple of other cars in part exchange. A XJR 4.0SC with some light front end damage, partially repaired. And an XJ8 3.2 V8.

I won't talk about the XJR or my plans for that since a) this is the wrong place and b) I am still formulating them and how I can get the money to spend on it!!

My daily driver for the past few years has been an XJ6. I've left the lacquer peel and crazed paint that affects all horizontal panels (was a UK car now baked in Spanish sun) but invested a lot of time and not inconsiderable money on sorting it mechanically. So I was not looking for a replacement car, I was quite happy where I was. 6 months after doing the part-ex today I finally decided to take the XJ8 from my work car park and take it home. Some rsol has stolen both rear badges off it and the key would not open the boot to put a new battery in so using the new battery and some bits of wire (yep, no jump leads) we managed to power it up from under the bonnet enough for the boot to open. New battery in and it fired up. Ran at very high RPM for about 1 minute. Then lots of smoke as it burnt off what I assume is oil that has seeped from the cam covers. After that it settled down but had "RESTRICTED PERFORMANCE" on the dash. Drove home, light throttle - I have to say even in limp mode and shifts below 3000rpm it felt as quick as the XJ6. Plugged Autel scanner into it - wouldn't read VIN, the model didn't show up under the Jag programme but somehow it did still communicate when I pretended it was a 2002 3.5 NA engine .....??? Had various faults, did a quick auto-reset on everything and hey presto no more restricted performance. Took it back out again and was quite impressed with the performance considering its the 3.2 V8.

General impressions now:

- Much better performance
- Much nicer dash and interior generally
- Seems to sit slightly higher on its suspension than XJ6
- Need to check gearbox oil - clunks into first and reverse from neutral
- Under-bonnet looks a lot less DIY friendly than the XJ6 and lots of plastic everywhere
- Hated the alloys at first compared to the very conservative XJ6 ones I have but starting to appreciate them
- Has all its paint and lacquer!

Now I am faced with a decision - do I keep both of them? Which should I use as my daily driver? Will the V8 be as bullet proof as the old AJ16 straight 6? Can I be bothered to "start again" in terms of going round the whole car and sorting everything out like wheel bearings, shocks, springs, tensioners, belts etc. that I know are all now good on the XJ6? Can I live with the XJ6 now I have "seen the light" with the extra power of the V8?

Any opinions welcome!

Thank you for reading
Sam,

 

This really sounds like your asking us to push you toward the V8. You sound like the "bother" of doing the upkeep isn't too much of a "bother" if we say yes. So I think you know the answer....you like the power.

 

Hahaha you got me there. Yes, I like the extra power but I can scratch that itch with other cars I own. My main concern really is under the bonnet - the AJ16 just looks and feels like it will go on forever whereas the V8 looks more plastic fantastic. Other than that there are certainly more reasons to switch to the X308 and put the X300 into storage. By the way the X308 is just touching 100,000 miles, the X300 is at around 130,000 miles. Both have over 1 year MOT left (both are Gibraltar registered).

 

the transmission in the 3.2 is a POS unless it’s rebuilt. you should use the na x308 as a throwaway beater and part it out it when it fails inspection, but that’s just me. the sc cars are worth owning

as long as you don’t overheat the v8 will last just as long as the aj16. they’re not hard to work on

 

Hi I thought the X308 3.2/4.0 were both ZF 5HP24? Only the XJR used a Mercedes box. The X300 also used a ZF box. Why would the gearbox in the 3.2 be less reliable than the marginally more powerful 4 litre?

 

the 4hp doesn’t break. the 5hp24 does

 

Ah okay. Never heard that before. 5HP is used in BMW 5 series E34, E39, 7 series E38, 8 series, Audi A8, A6, RS6, Bentley Arnage, Aston DB7 etc. you would think it would be more widespread - I wonder why they would fail in a Jaguar? Hmm.

 

the simpson gearset 5hps have a short life, it’s well known. failure is a well known in all the cars in bold

bad pressure regulators and weak drums cause the 19 to lose reverse and the 24 to slip in forward. if rebuilt properly this is a moot point

 

Faint of paint never won fair of heart, know what I mean? I recently went thru the very same conundrum, which was solved for me when some other rsole rear-ended me at a very high rate of speed, and spun my trusty X300 right off I-40 into the snow.



She still got me 400 miles home, but then it was do I wanna repair it or upgrade to XJ8? Naturally, I had just the month previous decided to keep the X300, and had just put on new tires, front suspension bushings, stereo, etc... But XJ8s are so cheap and plentiful in southern California, I found a beauty for $5500 and just bought it instead of sinking a couple more $K into the XJ6. I really wanted XJR, but no good ones to be found at the time. I couldn't be happier with the new (20-year old) XJ8. The power is not tremendously better at part throttle, but if you drive it like you stole it – higher rpm, which I am more and more willing to do as I realize at 61 I could have a coronary tomorrow – it definitely is. The ride is a bit floatier, but maybe we just need new rear shocks? Who cares. Mostly it looks better, even tho my XJ6 was in great shape for its age, and everybody is attracted to the 308 even moreso than to the 300. The X308 exterior is the last true Jaguar, and the interior is as you know, nicer than the XJ6 too. A guy flew in from Phoenix, gave me $500 for the XJ6, and drove it home. He also has an old XJS. If he can keep that thing running, I'm sure the old girl is in good hands. How I loved her, until something better came along. I think you know what to do.

 

that must have been one heck of a ride. And that was a beautiful XJ6. I loved the simplicity of the straight-six engine. Enjoy your XJ8. they're fun too.

 

Great reply - thank you - I guess in your case the decision was probably easier!! Cant believe how high up the bank that cars gone, must have been scary.

I definitely know the 308 is a better car than the 300. Just I am not sure my 308 is! Everything I read says the gearbox will fail as some stage and given it already clunks into D and R I am not convinced its got a huge life left in it. I don't like the fact you can't check the fluid level like you can with the XF4HP in the 300. Its too early to say for sure but I just don't feel i could trust this car like I do my old one.

What I didn't say about the XJR that I also acquired at the same time as this as a part exchange when I sold my Range Rover is that I was looking for a parts car to repair the front end damage - don't need many parts - bumper, one wing, headlight on one side, grill. So I am wondering if the best solution may be to use the X308 as the parts car and then keep the X300 and the XJR (which is a 308 by the way). Not sure yet as if the 308 is any good it would be a shame to break it especially as the prices are rising quite rapidly for good cars.

I'll give it a few months and see how I get on with it I think.

 

Build up the XJR