G'day Gents,

I'm currently the owner of an X300 and am very familiar with the various foibles of the XJ line, but am completely in the dark when it comes to the XK line. I've the opportunity to purchase a '97 XK8 Coupe w/101,000 miles. It's in generally good condition with the exception of a few familiar electrical faults to fix, and a drooping headliner. The big issue is the transmission. It will not shift out of 1st. From the minimal research I've done, it would seem the likely culprit is the "A" drum which seems to be a design flaw on this model. The vehicle is being offered @ $2500 from a local owner. I can get a rebuild kit for the tranny for $450, and am more than comfortable doing the rebuild. Is there anything else on this model I should be looking out for?

 

If your compression is good and you know about the transmission then you have covered the two big ones. The timing chain tensioners MUST be changed if original and may have been replaced with the second edition of the plastic tensioners which also MUST be replaced. $200 DIY. Perhaps the coolant pump if original. Lots of other things but nothing more than any other car 17 years old with over 100k miles.

I would check operation of all the interior 'features' of the car such as the AC, radio, seat operation, light bulbs, window operation, etc. Note that a non operational HVAC system can end up costing more than an engine.

 

+1 on test point's comments.

Check out the DIY sticky on the main page. It has a list of what to look out for in an XK8. But if you're comfortable with doing the tranny rebuild, the others will be a cakewalk.

 

Thanx for that. We have similar issues with the chain tensioners and guides on the X300. Luckily he had his replaced at 75,000 miles. He does not have receipts for a coolant pump change, nor mention of it, but that one is an easy one for me. Is the XK HVAC system a typical Jaguar system with dual blowers & secondary heater pump? Is there anything other than worn brushes in the motors to worry about? I've completely rebuilt both blower motors, the secondary heater pump, and soldered a common fail point in the control unit of my X300. I can't imagine a more involved HVAC system than the X300, but better ask just in case there is something big I'm missing. Pretty much anything which can be rebuilt, I can rebuild. But if a common fault is something like a Control Unit failure which must be replaced, and at great cost, then I'd want to have a look at the details of that.

Thanx again!

 

Thanx for the headsup. Had a look at it and this car is starting to seem like the deal it appears to be. Good motor, body, suspension, and interior (except headliner & seat bolster wear).

 

The things that will kill this series of Jaguars is the electronics. Jaguar, and the after market industry assumes that this stuff will last forever but you and I know that is not true. Rebuild folks have surfaced for throttle bodies, ECM's and ABS control units but things like body processor and security modules are still subject to JY availability . . . or the dreaded dealer parts counter.

 

I think you're right, it may be a deal. Especially if you provide the labor.

Some evidence of coolant overflow on the expansion tank and the bypass hose from the thermostat tower looks like an aftermarket piece. Better check for signs of overheating. These aluminum motors don't do well when they get too hot.

 

OK, right after taking a good hard look at a good hard look at the Coupe, a Convertible of the same year & color came on the local market with a blown motor bu transmission that was rebuilt less than a year ago. Looks like I'm going to purchase both of them and swap the motor from the coupe into the convertible then take my time rebuilding the bad tranmission and motor to put into the couple. I'm getting both vehicles for $4000 total, ($2000 each). WooHoo!

 

Now that's a bargain!!
If you do the work yourself, you can save some big bucks there.
You now have 2 projects, fix them both, sell one and that should also cover your expenses on the second one.

 

Please allow me to tell you that having 2 restoration projects underway at the same time exceeds the retirement authorized level of fun and approaches dreaded . . . work.

I almost finished my 5.0L V8 engine swap into a 32 year old Volvo before another old Volvo appeared that I couldn't ignore. It was only later that I realized that you never get through with one of these projects and suddenly you have two.

 

This is an old thread, but it appears you got a good deal. I rebuilt my tranny in my garage for $600.00 total. (Life time oil my ***!) The hardest part of the whole job was getting the exhaust pipes separated.

 

Swapping the engine from the coupe to the convertible went off without a hitch. The convertible runs now runs perfectly. And the great news with the "Blown" engine is that it was just a blown head gasket. I went ahead and removed both heads so I could get them checked a the shop and also replaced all of the tensioner gear. Pretty easy job overall. The transmission has been the slowest part. After pricing out a new front drum & seals ($175), as well as the pressure regulator ($140), And Rebuild Kit ($375) it made more sense to just purchase a rebuilt transmission which I was able to get from an outfit in Georgia for $1450 + $270 Shipping ($135 to ship to me and $135 to ship the core to them) EuropeanTransmissions

Final adjusted cost for the convertible is: $2125

Final adjusted cost for the coupe is: $4250

 

Congratulations!