| The V12 engine is a delight to work on as far as total rebuild is concerned.
I assume you have a degree in plumbing, too, right? :^) While you're at it,
put in the more modern fuel injection system if you can spare the cash.
Basically, it is a simple engine, there's just rather a lot of it :-) There
are some procedures to be very careful of, and replacing the timing and cam
drives is one of them! Contact the Jaguar Driver's Club in Luton (if you're
not already a member) as they are incredibly helpful to anyone tackling this
type of work.
Enjoy yourself, and the car! Brian
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| The Jag engine should be good for 130k miles, so I'd have no doubt
about setting right, your 80k engine.
It may be worth "shopping" around for a top end (head, valve gear, etc).
Basically, the top end rebuild is not too difficult. What you MUST
ensure though, is that you set up the valve timimg correctly, FIRST
time, otherwise you will end up with yet more problems. Some cars are
forgiving if you miss align the valve timing, but the Jag, Mercedes and
Audi range eg, certainly are not. There have been many good re-builds
totally let down at this stage. If the timing is out by one tooth, then
BANG goes all the work.......I know, for I was that man once!!!!
The head of the Jag is prone to warping, and corrosion within the water
jacket sections of the head, before fitting any head, have it checked
for these two common faults. As far as I remember, you can take up to
12 thou/inch off the head before problems start to arise.
If and when you tackle this job, take care to clean "with petrol" the oil
galleries, on the head. Shimming up the valve clearences is also a
major task which should be done with the utmost care.
Jaguar got into the alloy component business rather too quickly. Be
very careful when securing studs/bolts into these alloy components.
They have a very low tolerence to force, and tend to strip VERY easily.
Also, I suggest you do some weight training before opening the tool
box, for just about everything on the Jag is heavy!!
Don't be kidded, this is a BIG job requiring a fair degree of
knowledge, if it is to be done right. Jaguar engines really need to be
well looked after, or they will soon let you know about it.
Sorry to hear about your let-down, good luck.
John.
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