I want to buy an XKR supercharged in the near future but I am concerned about the life expectancy of the motor and supercharger. I heard these engines only last till 100K miles and then major problems occur. Is this true? I really want the power of the supercharged engine, but should I just stick with an XK8 so the engine can last longer?

 

Keep in mind the info I reference below is for US model years, meaning I am not addressing the pre-00 XKRs.

I haven't heard this business of 100k mile problems on the 8 or R, other than transmission issues on the 5HP24 that the 8 model uses(R gets a Mercedes 722.6 unit, the W5A580) may have A drum issues, early 8 cars having issues with the impeller on the water pump(sorted by time the 00 XKR came) and 8s having issues with the plastic thermostat housing(metal housing on XKRs).

The supercharger is a reliable Eaton M112 blower. Change the oil every 30k or so and it should give excellent life, and when the time comes, another unit can be fitted, or the unit rebuilt affordably. The supercharger is the item I'd worry about least in an XKR.

All engines, 8 or R, prior to 0008181043, which translates to August 18, 2000 at 10:43am (src: test point) have Nikasil cylinder linings, an electrodeposited nickel silicon carbide coating, instead of conventional steel liners. They may be an issue, especially if poor quality gas was used and short trips were common.

Use excellent premium gas (like Chevron, Shell or BP; I'd preference them in that order) and let the car not only warm up on the trip, but don't use it for putting around shortly between the shops. General consensus is that as long as the car doesn't have really low miles and was properly warmed up and good gas was used, and that this is continued, it really isn't an issue much anymore. My BMW 740i, which also is a nikasil block, has 190k miles on it and it doesn't use a drop of oil, starts instantly and runs like a scalded cat.

All models, 8 or R, engine serial starting with or after 010813xxxx (src: test point) meaning August 13, 2001 or newer have upgraded timing components. Buying a car with an engine prior to those means that unless you like to gamble, you WILL be changing the timing components to the new design. To rent the tools, buy the parts, and do yourself will cost you about $600 to DIY(using the cam locking tools and doing everything proper); or you can do just the most likely piece to fail, the upper timing chain tensioners for about $200 for all parts and doing the zip tie method(using a zip tie to secure the timing chain to the exhaust cam sprocket; and unbolting the exhaust cam, tilting it and popping the new tensioner in). OR you can pay a dealer $2-3.5K for them to do the full shebang.

Convertible tops, although you do not mention them, will have issues with the hydraulics. To properly remedy this, you need to address excess system pressure, via a pressure relief valve or inline resistor to reduce power to the top hydaulic pump, and then replace old hoses. There is debate on these systems on which is the "better" system. I did the $20 resistor(buy from forum member "Reverend Sam") and this winter am replacing the hoses with the revised ones, $300 from ctrent@colliflower.com. The pressure relief valve is $280(LSI Controls, Inc. (Contact Info)). Make your decision. The hose replacement is a LOT of work, so if you don't DIY, you will spend at least $1k at a dealer to get installed.

CATS Suspension - Expensive suspension option on the 8s, standard on the Rs. Some have issues, many never do. Shock absorbers for the CATS system are $2-300 more than the shock for the non-CATS cars EACH(~$3-400 each). The system is pretty robust though.

 

BTW - Here's my car and how I decided on it.

I bought a 2000 Jaguar XKR Convertible with 65k miles earlier this year. I've had it 9 months and driven ~10k miles. The previous owner owned it from new, loved and babied the car, had it religiously dealer serviced and just wanted it gone because he just bought his new 2011 XKR Vert in the same color combo. I felt the total package was excellent, and the issues these year and configuration cars had were rectifiable at a reasonable price to me.

It had the older timing components and the nikasil block. I replaced the secondary tensioners with the new Ford ones. I also replaced all of the spark plugs while I was rooting around the engine. I always use the best gas I can get, Shell 93 to address the nikasil.

I have had only one mechanical failure, the primary fuel pump wiring. The XKR has two fuel pumps, the 8 has one. The wiring goes on them. I bought two new pumps and two new wires; totalling $250 for everything. A dealer would have charged $1400+ to replace the one wire(if they diagnosed that and not the pump). It was one of the most painful jobs lying on the floor I've ever done, so I said f*** it, I'm replacing everything while I'm here so I'm not back there too often.

I installed the resistor on the convertible top. I have changed the front brake pads (I have an 00 without the Brembo brakes, so pads were cheap for the PBR pads I installed), done regular oil changes, flushed the brake fluid, changed the coolant, changed the transmission fluid and driven the car DAILY for 9 months. Next on my to do is to replace the convertible roof hoses and replace the supercharger oil.

I'm all DIY from simple fluid changes to engine, transmission and differential rebuilds. It costs significantly more to pay the dealer, especially on special interest vehicles, so remember that. You may be paying $5k a year if you get a car needing sorting, or $2k a year for a sorted car just to have a dealer just maintain it. Substantially less if you do everything.

Post up cars you are interested in, read the stickies and posts by other members, and soak up a lot of info. These are great cars that can be sorted quickly and cheaply, and run on a reasonable budget, but you better be educated and/or have a ton of money.

PS - Now that I've had the ***** of an XKR in terms of power, there's absolutely no way in hell I'd get an XK8. This is a car I love enough that when the time comes, it will be replaced with another XKR of the same era.

 

If you have driven both XK8s and Rs and know the obvious 'feel' difference, you will always wish you bought the R.

I have known superchargers to go wrong, mostly bearings but sometimes the plastic sprung drive splits in the nose, and I know many cars that are far way and beyond 100K miles and have never had a rebuild or an oil change (but I do recommend it)

Go for the R

 

Thanks for all the information 80sRule and XKRacer!! I will look into all these with more deatil and really plan on what I want to get. I think I would need to get the XKR instead of the XK8 because I need to have that extra power and I would regret not buying one. As far as repairs, I do almost all the repairs myself so I could save a lot of money instead of going to the dealer who rape your pockets. Luckily I also have the mechanical repair CD for the XKR that is in the model year range that I want. I will do some more research on this and thank you for the detailed information!

 

As XKRacer has already said the most common things that break on a S/C are the snout couplings,but thats an inexpensive thing to fix.Bearings and oil seals occasionally fail but thats a pretty rare occurance.The coating on the older 4L rotors sometimes start to peel,the 4.2L rotors have a much better resistance to peeling.

 

I agree on the SC oil change. The fluid is cheap, just go to the GM dealer and buy it.

 

When you find a car that you're interested in buying, post it up! Someone may have experience with that car, that dealer, or have comments that may be helpful to you. I know some people are afraid someone will swoop in and steal the deal from them, but this is a really good forum with people who have good intentions.