I have just bought an XJR that has been cooked and needs an engine. I have found a March 2000 car with a running engine, mine is Nov 1998. What differences/ problems am i likely to encounter? Car is lovely and i am looking forward to getting it running. Hope you can help before i go in feet first!

 

Hmm. Here is what I *think* you will need to change:
1. Flex plate
2. Oil sump if you want it to look factory, leave it if not. There are two oil sensors on the 2000 and one on the 98
3. Drivers side intake cam (or just the reluctor) and you will leave the passenger one in place, but there will be no plug for it.

I don't think there is anything else that needs replacing on the long block- you will need to swap throttle body of course, along with any peripherals that don't match like coils, etc.

Pretty straightforward swap except for the flex plate- others will chime in if I forgot anything.

 

Just install a 1998 or 1999 XJR engine. They are both AJ26 supercharged engines.

There are MANY posts on this subject!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bob

 

Ok, great to hear those replies, i had heard about the one or two sensor problem but didnt know which sensor, someone told me it was lambda, couldnt imagine how that was a problem.. now it makes sense.
The replacement engine is 700 miles away and is said to be a nikasil engine but had a recent rebuild. Will it definitely have 2 sensors.
Is there anything that is chipped that is ecu specific?
One last thing.. Am i ok to buy this early 2000 engine, it will work?

 

If yours is a 11/98, wouldn't that make your car a 99'? I'm sure I'll be corrected but, I'm pretty sure that the labeled 99' cars had 2 cam sensors and 4 wire ignition coils by then. It's the 98's that were a bassturdized year (like mine) that were more difficult to contend with.

 

Do the 4 wire coils and the 2 sensors arrive at the same time? I will go and check mine.

 

I don't follow what you are saying but, I will say this.... If you have a single cam sensor only on the drivers side cylinder head, rearmost of your overheated engine, then it can only be replaced with an engine just like yours. If you have an engine with a cam sensor on the drivers side and passenger side cylinder head, also rearmost, then it most certainly be replaced with the 2000 engine. The secret between the early and late engines is in the reluctor at the rear of the intake camshafts. There's also more differences in the engine, but you need to find out about the ignition coils and cam sensors on your car first and report back. I suspect you'll have the 'later' style engine.

 

Mine has 2 wires per coil and 1 sensor on the left hand bank.
The new engine has just messaged me saying that it has single sensor and 4 wires per coil. Looks like i just have to swap the coils.

 

Do.not.forget.the.flex.plate. Not changing going from an AJ26 to an AJ27 will make for a very bad day.

 

I have written up my story with a swap from a 1998 AJ26 engine to a 2000 AJ27 engine.
It can be done but since I worked at the dealer and went to Jaguar training I had an advantage that most DO NOT.

I have listed in several posts the parts that need to be swapped.

This horse has been beaten to death as well as trying to put a SuperCharged engine in a Normally Aspirated car.

Do search of the forum and spend a few hours researching your project.

bob

 

Hi Bob, thanks for replying. After having trailed through many posts on this and other sites, I am still not entirely sure that the engine I am buying is an AJ27, It is nikasil, has one sensor and four wire coils but is from a march 2000 car. I am wondering if an AJ27 can have a single sensor. If that means it is not an AJ27 then that makes life easy!

 

Jaguar XJR 1998/99 are AJ26!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The 1999 Normally Aspirated XJ8 is AJ27.
Jaguar did not make changes to the XJR until MY 2000 and then that became AJ27.

Something is NOT adding up in your description of the replacement engine. Jaguar did NOT start using 4 pin ignition coils until the AJ27 (2000MY XJR) engine management.

There might be many Jaguars built by bubba Dr Frankenstein that you never know who-did-what????

Many pictures might resolve the dilemma???????????

bob

 

Got my engine delivered, havent opened it up but it has got 4 wire coils and HAS got 2 cam sensors, despite what the seller said! so it definitely is an AJ27, but i found this in an earlier post and has confused me into thinking that the AJ27SC cam sensors and reluctors remained unchanged from the AJ26 and it was just the rh head casting that had a bunged hole in it, I have read virtually every post relating to this and am still unclear!

 

Geeeezzzz, you are a glutton for punishment aren't you? Now that you have the wrong engine, there's only a few options left to get back in a running car. Either go have your cooked engine evaluated at a reputable machine shop for a potential rebuild, return the wrong engine, go look again for the correct replacement engine or do a bunch of things to the wrong engine you got and make it somewhat correct. HOWEVER..... the AJ27 NA engine that you purchased has a different compression ratio. Even if you got this engine into your car and ran strictly premium fuel, I am not sure if you will have detonation or not on full throttle because of the higher compression ratio. Which direction do you choose??

 

I have not purchased a NA engine it is a complete SC engine, i tried to find out if there was such a thing as a single cam sensor 4 wire coil AJ26 and i couldnt find out, the seller swore to me it had a single sensor, i told him i didnt want it if he discovered it had 2, but here it is and lo and behold it has 2! The above attachment says that the single sensor remained unchanged on the SC engine, is the attachment correct?

 

Ok, good!! That's even better news! First and foremost I would pull the front timing cover off and check all timing gear components for wear and preferably replace it all. Having an unknown history engine you can't assume everything is just fine as is. Second thing is to pull the D/S cam sensors out and install your cam sensor from your old engine. The harness connector is a little bit different from these 2 cam sensors. Just leave the unuseable cam sensor in the P/S head alone to keep the hole sealed up. Once you have the old engine out, you'll have to switch out the engine wiring harness, the lower intake manifold that houses the fuel injectors and the flex plate. This is optional but, if I were you I'd replace the head gaskets. The composite ones are old and give up after awhile. The newer metal head gaskets are the way to go. It's tremendously easier to do it while the engine is out of the car. Did the seller say how many miles were on this engine??

 

Ok, that all sounds good, is the cam reluctor likely to be different? And i know the throttle body is different but why does the manifold have to be changed?

 

I would recommend you purchase the SC sensor ring (at the end of the camshaft) from a Jaguar dealer. If I remember right it was only around $20. It is tricky to get the sensor out, so much that I wouldn't want to do it twice or reuse one.

Here is the part number I used (for AJ26S) : NCA2613CA

 

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Bob, i got a new message from you but cant find it, all i got was a repeat from earlier! Stevie