When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Pretty impressive doing all of that. I’m always amazed that mechanics can do all that work on a car they’ve never worked on and somehow are able to put it all back together and make it work. My brain just doesn’t work like that. Amazing
Be sure to get a new Factory Coolant overflow bottle. They are famous for hairline cracks then chasing overheating with the hidden crack. Don't use the Dorman one they are crap and crack faster. Nice Jag!
I had a Lincoln LS V8 (Jag). It went 280k miles. I sold it only because it had Jag suspension and it was like $4500 to replace all. They sent me renewal paper work on it a few years ago by mistake and it showed it then had 390k. When I sold it the Factory Forged motor did not smoke, burned zero oil and ran perfect. Transmission too.
Pretty impressive doing all of that. I’m always amazed that mechanics can do all that work on a car they’ve never worked on and somehow are able to put it all back together and make it work. My brain just doesn’t work like that. Amazing
Originally Posted by timmy0tool
great work here! love to see tear down pics like this. please share the start up!
Originally Posted by jgscott
Be sure to get a new Factory Coolant overflow bottle. They are famous for hairline cracks then chasing overheating with the hidden crack. Don't use the Dorman one they are crap and crack faster. Nice Jag!
I had a Lincoln LS V8 (Jag). It went 280k miles. I sold it only because it had Jag suspension and it was like $4500 to replace all. They sent me renewal paper work on it a few years ago by mistake and it showed it then had 390k. When I sold it the Factory Forged motor did not smoke, burned zero oil and ran perfect. Transmission too.
Thanks guys, I figured people here would have some interest in this since it's not too common of a project for forum guys.
I'll make sure to get a new bottle, this one seems fine for now but hearing that is good advice since I really do not like chasing coolant issues. I already pulled all the cooling systems parts on the engine and replaced the O-rings and added silicone to many areas since some were weak/suspect upon teardown.
Also BTW: from experience with Jag's. Wait till you drive it. With good tires and good stock suspension it's going to handle Porsche like, but ride also Lexus like smooth. Jag has a long very successful racing history. They make a great suspension in everything they produce.
I have my eyes and not too long ago was scoping out the 2016 Jaguar F-type R @ 550hp. Due to C-19 overinflated prices I decided to wait a bit. For not much money they can be Tuned to plus 700hp and more. One is still on my bucket list sooner or later if I find the right one at the right price. Very fly under the Radar, well kept secret sports car.
Did you notice in the short drive you took the Lexus like very quite low noise interior? Another thing ppl don't realize about the Jag's. Some are actually more tight sealed, quite in the inside than some Lexus's.
Also BTW: from experience with Jag's. Wait till you drive it. With good tires and good stock suspension it's going to handle Porsche like, but ride also Lexus like smooth. Jag has a long very successful racing history. They make a great suspension in everything they produce.
I have my eyes and not too long ago was scoping out the 2016 Jaguar F-type R @ 550hp. Due to C-19 overinflated prices I decided to wait a bit. For not much money they can be Tuned to plus 700hp and more. One is still on my bucket list sooner or later if I find the right one at the right price. Very fly under the Radar, well kept secret sports car.
Did you notice in the short drive you took the Lexus like very quite low noise interior? Another thing ppl don't realize about the Jag's. Some are actually more tight sealed, quite in the inside than some Lexus's.
I did drive it around my neighborhood a little before I loaded it up since I was very curious and knew at that point I was replacing the engine.
Honestly I was not exactly blown away, it for sure handles better than an ES but ride noise and quality is not on the same level. I'll give it a better shake down before really forming an opinion but right now that's where it sits. I do greatly perfer how it drives though, feels RWD and reacts well to my inputs. It has a not too old set of nice Perelli allseasons so good quality I think.
I have also enough experience with XJ and XK cars that while nice I would rate them totally below the LS or S class.
Well I screwed up. I transferred everything over electronics wise EXCEPT the knock sensor........take a guess what code I have.
The sensor is under the fuel rail/lower intake and main coolant crossover tube I just so carefully cleaned and resealed. Stupid mistake on my part.
*slams head into table*
However, I did get to drive it around the shop and back home. It drives VERY nicely, sorta like a 3-series crossed with an ES, it is quite and has very light inputs like the latter but has initial responses like a 3 series as well as the same light on its feet feel. Actual handling and traction is far below my LSs, it was breaking the rears loose at only 35-40 mph in areas the 430 even can do 52-55 and this extends to all aspects.
It feels quite good and athletic but actual grip levels, braking power, and overall control are all lower. The lack of body roll invites you to play but just don't push it too hard since it will fall apart vs the type of stuff I normally drive.
That said it's a hell of a lot nicer than my Jeep and more enjoyable to actually drive than the 07 ES I had for a while. Not as refined of a car as the latter but very much more a drivers car.
Also BTW: from experience with Jag's. Wait till you drive it. With good tires and good stock suspension it's going to handle Porsche like, but ride also Lexus like smooth. Jag has a long very successful racing history. They make a great suspension in everything they produce.
I have my eyes and not too long ago was scoping out the 2016 Jaguar F-type R @ 550hp. Due to C-19 overinflated prices I decided to wait a bit. For not much money they can be Tuned to plus 700hp and more. One is still on my bucket list sooner or later if I find the right one at the right price. Very fly under the Radar, well kept secret sports car.
Did you notice in the short drive you took the Lexus like very quite low noise interior? Another thing ppl don't realize about the Jag's. Some are actually more tight sealed, quite in the inside than some Lexus's.
Okay so I have now had a chance to drive it for real, it has the most unique feeling I have ever experienced in a car to date.
First of all it feels VERY fast, by this I mean that 48-52 feels like I am going 80-90 in my LS460 on the same roads. This is a combo of the low hoodline, less advanced suspension, and less NVH isolation I think....still even so it's also oddly serene despite feeling faster. The steering feel is unlike anything else, it's somehow taught and ready but really light and delicate and not hard at all to direct the car and respond to feedback. I am really enjoying that aspect a lot more than I expected, it's very lightweight but doesn't have an over boosted feel. It somehow feels like there is no booster at all and I am directly controlling the wheels? Not quite sure how to describe it but that's the impression it gives me.
Chassis control and balance also defied my expectations, I went into this with the expectation of a Ford Fusion/Taurus but with AWD such is typical of this sort of engine/chassis config. Instead I got a tail happy, balanced weight feeling car that somehow likes to break loose at the rear and rotate like a RWD car. To be clear I literally mean feeling, it does NOT actually have good balance when pushed and I am consistently 20-50% slower at a given point than my LS460 since the Jag simply can not grip and remain in control before it starts to plow or want to spin out. Despite this if you stay under the limits it responds fast, has near no body roll, minimal weight transfer (for better or worse....), great feedback as to what the road and wheels are doing, and it makes you FEEL like it is really quick and agile. It lacks the heavy, deliberate, and almost disdainfully effortlessness of the flagship cars.....they are much faster but don't feel like it, don't have the pretensions of feeling sporty, and do not try and feel fast despite being able to absolutely FLY vs normal cars.
I always found myself going slower than the speed limit in this car so far, I took it up to 105 once already just to see how it felt/made sure the new engine runs well and I honestly started getting nervous around 85-90 and got some adrenaline lol! Normally I have to be going like 130-150 for the same rush so I can confidently say this car is fun as hell to drive at normal speeds!
What a shame, that poor engine.
It looks like it's built tough tho.
Is that Electronic VVT's I see on the cams?
If so, this engine is more modern than what I was expecting.
It is indeed! It's shockingly advanced for what it is, it's actually in many ways just like a same era Lexus engine. Most people lump this in with the same year ford V6s but in reality the whole top end is different, it even has variable intake runners just like your 3MZ engine and "floating" style valve covers and a full crankshaft windage control system.
It's built FORD TUFF for sure lol! The block and heads have endless reminders that they were cast by ford......it also lived a lot longer than most engines would with a totally absent bearing and that much contamination.
*sigh* I feel like I just did this. Idiotic design. I couldn't even use a crows foot, I had to use a janky setup with a flex head ratcheting wrench to get to the obscured bolt. Be extremely careful when doing this since the tool can bind on top of the screw and you will in trouble. Occasionally stop and see if you can still remove it since the one way mechanism will not allow you to put it back in enough to get out. This is likely the best way since everything else I have seen on the jag forums doesn't allow proper access Everything pulled Resealed and new KS installed, coolant drained just enough to get the neck back on a dry surface for my RTV to set properly. I always back up O-ring type seals with RTV if they have a flange wider than the ring since it's a failure proof way to seal it. You can also see this on the other coolant neck near the bottom of frame, takes more time and prep but I've literally never had a failure
Here's from today when I fixed the limp mode issue from the knock sensor. Not a hard job just extremely annoying since I just did this and it's entirely my fault for not doing it the first time. Below are the first start and fixed KS videos as promised
Winter has hit here, this thing is KILLER in the snow. No VSC or TC so you can snap the rear out with ease like a RWD car without interference but the AWD lets you come right back. Not quite as controlled/sustainable of a drift as in say.....a true Quattro car but still damn fun.