As the title says I am still questioning some things on my 2001 Jaguar XKR Silverstone. The car only has 6,700 miles one it, I am the second owner as of June of 2013.
Date of manufacture-8-14-00
Date Jaguar switched over to steel lined engines 8-18-00

First off for the Nikasil lined Engine.
1) I know it is better to use low sulfur gas, I only use shell, is that a good idea or is there a better place to fill up?
2)They also say to keep the car maintained. I change the oil every year and that is about every 250-500 miles per year.
3) They also say to keep the short trips to a minimum, this is a problem for me. I only do short trips in my XKR. Is that really a problem?
4) Is there anything else I can do to extended the life of my engine? My engine sounds really good for being a 12 year old car, but it should with only 6,700 miles on it. Are the Nikasil lined engines really as reliable as the steel lined ones, if they have made it this far in time?

Other questions about the cars maintenance?
I had the tensioners changed out in July, so that is fine. But I am still lost on other questions. Had the brake fluid changed, Oil changed with full synthetic. Had the car looked over too. The tires were replaced at 4,500 miles a few years ago so they should be good for a while too.

1) Should I change out the trans fluid? Yes it has 6,700 miles but its 12 years old, should it be changed. I was planning on changing it out once I got to 10,000 miles, would that be alright to wait on?
2) The water pump, it was checked and it ok, but should I change it out to a more modern one?
3)Thermostat, it was also checked and said to be good. But hearing all those stories about overheating, should it be changed out along with the coolant? It is also probably 12 years old.
4)Any other things I should think about doing, before summer comes and I start driving the car?

Thanks,
I know it's a lot.
Mike

 

All gasoline sold today is low sulphur. Brand is irrelevant, all gas comes from one or two refineries. The only difference (which is debatable) from one retailer to another might be a slight variation in additives.

Annual oil changes are sufficient but with so few miles driven synthetic oil is a waste of money.

 

Hi Mike,
Definitely keep it maintained and use OEM parts if you can.

If you have to do short trips then find somewhere to boot it and get the temperature up. Also invest in a CTEK battery tender because your battery will go flat eventually from short trip usage.

I would change the coolant as soon as and install the latest water pump along with new thermostat at the same time.

May well be a good idea to change the transmission oil when you have indicated.

Apart from that, you have a cracking car from the sounds of it so go out and enjoy it.

Just my own thoughts and hope it helps,

 

Some of us have noticed from reading this XK8 section of the forum that these cars perform better and tend to have fewer issues when they are driven regularly. My wife's XK8 was essentially a toy for its two previous owners. We purchased it in February 2012 with 36,000 miles on the odometer in just under 7 years, and it suffered from a number of well-known issues that I had to resolve during the course of 2012. The car is her daily driver, now has just over 74,000 miles on it, and has been trouble-free since we resolved the intermittent ZF harsh shift issue back in July with fresh ATF and an Adaptations Drive Cycle TSB procedure at our preferred dealership in Greensboro....

Drive your car more frequently than you're doing now. You'll be far better off with fewer repair issues to deal with, therefore a much more favorable cost-of-ownership experience....

 

+1 on the coolant flush and thermostat change.

Also, the EGR tube cracking addressed by this TSB comes up at relatively low mileage on the early XKRs and should be taken care of while parts are still available.

If you notice any fuel odors in the cabin, there are also a couple of TSBs to address that.

 

As motorcarman mentioned recently, the biggest destroyer of nikasyl engines is overheating. I suggest you install the Realgauge modification marketed by WhiteXKR on his site thejagwrangler.com.

 

Could I bring this back to the Jaguar dealer to have them do this? Is this an actual recall, where its no cost to me, or should I just have my mechanic do it?
Thanks for all your info
Mike

 

Thanks for the info on the sulphur levels in gas today.
As far as changing oil out too soon, its every season, and I only out about 250-500 miles per season on the car.
Thanks,
Mike

 

Is the water pump that big of a problem?

 

I have looked into it. But got talked out of it by my Jaguar mechanic, he has been working on Jaguar for the last 40 years and said the gauge put in by Jaguar will warn you with enough time to pull over and stop the engine without damaging it? Is this true? I asked him a few times about it but each time his reply was the same. He says Jaguar put in the mostly dummy gauge so people don't get worried and bring there car in because there temp gauge moved a bit. I just want to know that I have enough time to pull over if there is a fault, so I don't ruin my engine.
Thanks for your info,
Mike

 

When you get the mileage up the original pumps started to fail. The later pumps addressed the problem being made from different materials to the originals.

You still have a ways to go yet but it makes sense to do it sooner rather than later.

 

If you have a trusted mechanic have him do it. This is not a recall, it is just a Technical Service Bulletin. If the car is out of warranty Jaguar is under no obligation (and almost certainly will not) do it for free.

 

Do you have a part number by chance? For the updated on, so I don't end up buying the wrong one?
Thanks

 

I just looked at the price for the part. Is it correct that it cost upwards of 400?
Thanks

Also as far as smelling fuel odors in the car, I do smell some. but only when its warming up in the garage and its probably sucking in polluted air. Is that a problem? But when I am driving I don't notice it one bit.

 

Here you go Mike.

 

So this is a coolant pump, not a water pump correct?
Thanks for all your help,
Mike

 

The part is $143 at this discount dealer: Jaguar Parts - Direct JPLV Porsche Parts.com

There are a few relatively inexpensive gaskets also needed. This is not a 'must do' now, but if you intend to keep this car for the long term, the original pipe will eventually break, and I was just concerned about parts availabilty, which is not always a Jaguar strong point. Most XKRs on the road with more typical mileage likely had this particular TSB done long ago under warranty.

If you have no gas odor when driving outside the garage, then I would not be concerned.

 

Thanks for posting your questions,
made for interesting reading. That is an unusually low mileage car and have the ability to fix common known faults before they occur.
+1 on the thermostat housing if it is plastic,a cheap one to have out of the way as it will fail at some point.

The only advice that seems a little troubling to me is your mechanics advice.."and said the gauge put in by Jaguar will warn you with enough time to pull over and stop the engine without damaging it"? Is this true?

That's not the general feeling on the forum and why I installed the RealGauge.A small outlay for peace of mind.

 

So what your saying is the Jaguar gauge will not give you enough time to pull over and turn the engine off before overheating?
Thanks

 

WhiteXKR
I have a few questions about the real gauge. I understand that it monitors the "actual temperature". Does all three of my Jaguar's suffer from the same "dead" gauge? My X-type actually overheated when I first got the car and the car displayed on the thermostat that it was over heating and I pulled over within enough time? Wouldn't my XKR have a similar temp display, and give me enough time to pull over before I do any damage to my engine? I understand that your system will warn me in advance before the factory Jaguar system, so why should I upgrade?
Thanks,
Mike