This is Jag XJ8 is for sale near me and this made me think "I wonder how reliable these are without the engine and transmission to worry about (assuming LS swap)"
As usual, you people are who I turn to for information. I am positive I won't do this but am curious what the consensus is on.
That's really not much less than they bring WITHOUT a bad transmission. I'm not saying they're bad or they're not worth more, but that asking price is probably 700-800 over what it'll sell for.
This car looks very Wheeler Dealer-esk.
By that I mean that I wonder if the limp home mode is easy to fix or not.
W-D did an XK8, where it had similar issues, and the solution was to replace the ETC throttle sensor from a contact one to a non-contact one.
One of the very first Ford cars with ETC, and the V8 engine is pretty much the same as the V8 in the Lincoln LS.
Something to think about.
I don't really see what is unreliable about them. I have a couple that come in for service and they're pretty bland as things go. Gas tires oil and the usual crap. Most interesting thing I've had to do on an XK8 was smoke test for an evap leak, and that was a bad gas cap.
In reply to Knurled:
And that's why I think there's some simple wheeler-dealer profit to be found in this car. 
Im sorry, I see modern European car and assume that at nearing 20 years of age that it is going to be riddled with problems. Mercedes Benz has ruined me. 
It's a Lincoln LS with a Jag body/chassis on it. Does that help?
I don't know Jaguar, but I googled the xk8 and it looks like they use the zf 5hp24, which is something I do know. A code scanner and hands on diagnosis would give you some better information as there are a million things that can throw this transmission into limp.
The most common is a weak battery or gungy battery ground...
That is a nice car but over priced. Could be a simple fix could be a new trans. Either way I would not pay more than 1k for it.
Timing chain tensioners can fail causing catastrophe and havoc within the engine bay. I've seen it on LS Lincoln engines. Other than that I've got nothing and have also wondered just how horrific trying to own one of these would be.
Ford seems to use the same tensioner in everything... the "Jag" tensioner looks identical to a Duratec/MZR unit. THOSE don't fail. I'm thinking it is more of an owner issue.
So the trans has a limp mode?
alfadriver wrote: It's a Lincoln LS with a Jag body/chassis on it. Does that help?
except the Lincoln uses a transmission similar to the ford ranger
Knurled wrote: Ford seems to use the same tensioner in everything... the "Jag" tensioner looks identical to a Duratec/MZR unit. THOSE don't fail. I'm thinking it is more of an owner issue.
The original tensioners in a '98 XJ8 were plastic bodied garbage that have almost certainly been replaced by now.
belteshazzar wrote:alfadriver wrote: It's a Lincoln LS with a Jag body/chassis on it. Does that help?except the Lincoln uses a transmission similar to the ford ranger
To be honest, I have a lot more faith in period ZF boxes than Ford ones. The one the DB7 used was massive, but worked really well.
I think this ZF one has a lot in common with what BMW put behind the V8 E39's, and X5. For better or worse.
In reply to belteshazzar:
I know the 5hp24 from range rovers.
Also for better or worse ugh...
I know Jag trans fluid is silly $$$.
Trans pan has the filter integral to it, was a $200 pan IIRC. Fluid was something like $30/at at my dealers cost. It was a $400 fluid and filter change just in parts.
*I can't recall the year or specific model this was on, but it was RWD and 2005ish so suspect it was an XJ-something based on my fuzzy memory 6-7 years ago.
In reply to singleslammer: Jaguar went from a great car with reliability issues to a reliable car that wasn't very exciting under Ford.. Any car will need repair by that age, if you doubt me read the About the daily driver Corvette on this site..
Swapping engines isn't easy or make the car more reliable..
New transmission time. This era of ZF autos had a check valve in the valve body (ball) that wore over time cause some high pressure fluid to pass by and slightly engage a clutch pack that slowly burnt it out over time. If caught early you can just replace the valve body...if to late its rebuild time.
Related discussion http://www.jaguarforum.com/showthread.php?t=67744
It frightens me that I find those cars so attractive...
belteshazzar wrote: I think this ZF one has a lot in common with what BMW put behind the V8 E39's, and X5. For better or worse.
ZF transmissions are fine if you change the fluid in them every now and then. "Lifetime fluid" is great if you're leasing the car and don't care about anything that happens after three years.
flatlander937 wrote: I know Jag trans fluid is silly $$$.
The trans shop we use puts synthetic Dexron in everything. They warranty everything they work on.
Thus, we also use synthetic Dexron in everything. It's not $$$. It's only, what, $5/quart retail? (That is not $$$. I was pricing out fluids for Certain German Cars and noted $30/qt just for the oil, trans fluid was quite a bit more than that)
We even used it in VW DSG transmissions... the world failed to end 
Although long term use in that case is still unknown, as the longest we've seen one go was only 80k after we serviced it and she traded it in on an Acura, so it might cause a failure eventually after 200k or so.
In reply to Knurled:
Valvoline Maxlife claims Dex VI (and about a million other specs) and is something like $18 a gallon at Walmart, I put that stuff in everything. I even put it in a old non lock up TH-200 and it actually shifts ok now and quit leaking out the speedo port.
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