I am assisting a friend who is looking at an XK8 to add to his stable. The car he has identified is a local estate vehicle with 130K miles. Well loved and driven by an elderly gentleman. All maintenance work performed since new is included. Is there anything we should be concerned about. Every car seems to have some issue that they are prone to have. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

Is it wet under the carpets or below the back seat?

 

Model (ie FHC or convertible)?
Year?
Engine & transmission?

Different answers to these basics will evoke different strengths and weaknesses . . . some being preferences in the eyes of beholders; some serious.

Best wishes,

 

1998 Convertible V8 engine

 

Convertible = wind in hair (tick); but look for leaks (as per Pistnbroke) and dreaded 'green shower' (adjacent thread and many previous)

1998 V8 engine = 4.0L so read up on Nikosil (no longer an issue but check replacement status and, much more importantly, replacement of all valve timing chain mtgs and guides (fully detailed workshop evidence is imperative; neglecting this has led to instances of engine destruction). Later 4.2L engines had no such problems and the later cars to which they were fitted have a variety of significant improvements . . . some cosmetic, but some like CATS suspension, Adaptive Cruise Control were important driveability improvements; others aided electronic reliability. This is not said to denigrate early models, but a logical quality improvement program over the many years these cars were built.

Ditto the comments on 5 speed auto (ie only 2, 3, 4 on J-gate selector), whereas later XK8s had the superior 6 speed 6HP26 box.

Happy hunting and best wishes,

Ken

 

Rchuda,

It's nice of you to help your friend to look at a 1998 Convertible V8 XK8 - Location? Not supercharged, I presume? Are you going with him to look at the car? Lots of things to think about in this car, some visible and others you'll need to know what to look for. You haven't mentioned if you're mechanically minded so apologies if I'm telling you "how to suck eggs."

The car in question sounds nicely stored and 130k km isn't a serious issue for a car over 23years old. Look closely at the service history, if available. As said above, this is a Gen1 of 3 generations of the car. Lots of knowledge here on what to look for, and I hope your friend is prepared to put some money into repairs/upgrades for the problems that may/will occur. Question - what is your friend is looking for? A daily driver or a week end cruiser/man toy?

Sitting in the car, how's the general condition of the interior. Do make sure everything works and if possible connect an OBD2 reader into the car's port. This will tell you of any DTCs codes logged into the car's own diagnostic systems. It's cheap nowadays to get/borrow/buy generic readers and it's a good thing to know what the DTCs are as a general indicator of the health of the car.

The obvious external things to look for are signs of accident repairs and/or body related damage ie under-body rust esp. around the wheel wells. Next is the condition of the engine bay and whether the plastic bits & rubber hoses are sound. Look closely at the accordian section of the plastic air intake - any cracks in it? Are the hoses supple to squeeze or cracked around their clamps. The top of the front suspension mounts are visible and should be centred - material here shouldn't be flakey when poked with a screwdriver. If you open a door, using it as a lever, rock the car to check the suspension condition.

The trunk is a good place to check the convertible top hydraulic system. Pull the bottom and side trim (Right side) to check on the top's hydraulic pump and the condition of the hydraulic hoses. The factory hoses were known to shed their "rubber skin" and fail at the connections.

On the test drive, the key thing is the engine and transmission health. Does it run smoothly and change gears freely? Don't be afraid to run the engine HOT and see how it behaves - the J-Gate gear box can hold the gears down even at speed to rev up the engine to "work it hard." The car's behaviour shouldn't change noticable from a cold start to when running hot. The steering should be precise, albeit Jag's in general are set up "loosely geared steering " and there shouldn't be any clunks/bangs/squeeking from the car's suspension.

The gearbox will be the ZF5HP24 model which has known weaknesses and should have had an ATF fluid/filter change by now. If not you'll have to factor that into the buying price. The key question is whether the AJ-V8 (AJ-26 model?) engine has had the timing change guides changed/upgraded. Hopefully it has been done already as it's a big & expensive job that needs to be done. It's DIY-able ... just .... a challenge even for the mechnically inclined home "shade tree mechanic."

Good luck on the purchase. Go into buying this beautiful Jag with your eyes wide open and brain switched on. Someone said on this forum, that for this car you should have an equal amount of spare cash as the amount of your buying price. It's an expensive luxury cruiser that can be expensive to run. You can keep running costs down if you can DIY the simple jobs, but some expertise is really a must if you're into serious ownership of the X100.