i am currently in negotiations over an xj8 3.2. it was manufactured in early 1998. it is a well maintained solid car with 90,000 miles on the clock. the engine sounds very smooth and pulls well thru all gears. starts easily from cold and settles straight away to a nice idle.

the car is reasonably priced, nice colour and i have a good feeling about it. my intention is to use the car for day trips on good days in summer months, so it will not be a daily driver.

i presume that any nikasil issues would have reared their head by now, so given the limited use i intend it to get should it be ok?

 

My nikasil engine has 136k miles on it of which I've put 16k. It runs good and smooth; uses a slight amount of oil which I'm told is normal at about 1 qt in 2k miles.
Mike

 

From reading these forums, it seems the general consensus is that the Nikasil problem was caused by higher sulpher in US gas than the engines were designed/tested for. This eventually degraded the nikasil lining, leading to loss of compression. However, US gasoline standards have risen and there is now less sulphur in the gas than in the late '90's, early 2000's. So long story short, if your car made it this far then you should be fine. In fact, some have suggested that the Nikasil lining is actually better than those without, once the reliability issue has passed. I'm sure this will start some lively discussion because there are many opinions on the matter. I, myself am definitely not an expert, but this seams to be the overall/big picture opinion.

 

Any 1998 Nikasil engine that has got to 2010 is surely going to the Moon and back ! With no sulphur not in petrol for so many years, I would think it is the least of your problems. Camchain tensioners is the immediate thing needing attention - have they been replaced with the metal-bodied ones ? The old plastic-bodied tensioners can wreck your engine, so if you buy the car and they have not been done, budget for this as an immediate job, they are not really expensive to do.

 

Adding to Fraser's comments: I would also plan on changing to a later model water pump as well. The 4.2 engine parts were redesigned but should fit the earlier model engines. Definitely check the cam chain tensioners though.

 

i am close to buying a 1998 xj8 3.2 but i am concerned with the nikasil stories floating around and need advice.
the car is a solid genuine 3.2 v8 with 90,000 miles no service history as such but well maintained. starts from cold perfectly and settles to idle straight away.
engine sounds very smooth and pulls well in all gears. no smoke.
it is well specced, reasonably priced and a nice colour, i am pretty sure i will buy it. i presume any nikasil gremlins would have reared their head by now or am i wrong? i, nor the seller, have any idea if the engine was replaced by jaguar and he doesnt seem to know what nikasil even is!

i want this car for summer trips and will only use it for 2 maybe 3 months of the year (less than 2,000 miles a year). it will be dry stored otherwise.
what should i do? cheers jj.

Hey jjd,
I have merged your existing thread into this one into the X308 Forum therefore it will be easier for you to track down the messages and reviews from our members
Thanks

 

This is the never ending question... My 1999 is a nikisil 4.0L and I went with the consensus position that if the engine is not showing the tell tale signs it is probably safe now that sulfur has been reduced in the fuels. Also, nikisil is actually better than a sleeved engine and is rumoured to be coming back for these reasons.

 

I truly believe that if a Nikasil engine is still running with good compression, it has survived the high sulfer issues - In addition, fuel with high sulfer content was not in use everywhere, so many engines most likely never saw it.

 

so basically go with my gut feeling that all is well with the car....it really is giving me an honest vibe.
i heard that if a car is still purring along this long after the problem first came to light then its probably a good chance its ok. just need reassurance.
its coming in at a very reasonable €1200 or about $1600 usd. but i still dont want to have to overhaul the engine in the near future.

 

€1200 = £1000 approx. Sounds like a bargain to me !

 

yeah its not a bad deal, but bearing in mind the road tax situation in ireland means that i have to pay almost €1400 annually to tax it, also a litre of unleaded is just about €1.30 and rising quickly, thats really what kills these lovely cars over here hence the resale is thru the floor. easy to buy but crippling to run.

thanks for the advice everyone im pretty sure im going to but this car hopefully early next week (if it doesnt sell)......ill post pics soon as i can.

 

How much is an "ordinary" car to tax?
Unless you drive a lot of miles then fuel costs will not be that much higher with the Jag in comparison to a car that averages say, 30 mpg vs. 20 mpg. A trip from Belfast to Dublin would cost 26 vs. 17 euros. The bargain price of the Jag should offset some of your additional fuel costs.

 

road tax is calculated on engine size up to 2008 and co2 emissions on vehicles after 2008 reg. so the jaguars registerd before 2008 are generally in the top bracket of 3000cc and above ie:€1400 per year!
and most driving over here involves regional and national routes so mpg is usually way down on cruising figures.

for example it costs me approx €130 per week for fuel alone on my daily driver a bmw 520i which manages 31mpg. road tax is about €700 per annum. costly i reckon.

 

Unbelievable the social engineering imposed by governments.

In my little corner of the world gas is about $2.70 per gallon (US, 164oz), which includes what amounts to your 'road tax', and annual vehicle tax on a '02 XK8 4.0L is about a hundred US$.

Your government is obviously dictating that you buy newer, better fuel mileage cars. Is anyone going to be embarrassed when history determines that humans are incapable of modifying the earth's climates?

 

1998? I own 1998 Vanden Plas. Nikasil engine. No issues there.
I had secondary timing tensioners replaced, and also replaced plastic thermostat housing with an aluminum one. Plastic housings do crack.
I am enclosing list of problems to look for in 1998 Jaguar. This is as an attachment.

burza
1998 VDP
42,000 miles

 

Unfortunately they will be long gone before any statistically relevant data will be available to embarrass them.

Yet we're following in the same direction anyway... sigh!

 

i can see the govt here reverting to the old taxation class in years to come when revenue goes thru the floor as we all begin to drive 1 litre diesels that are doing 70mpg and have annual road tax of €140. thats basically whats going to happen.

back to the xj8. thanks for the advice and tech link im pretty sure im going to have this car so ill keep you all up to speed. cheers.