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1997 XJ6 engine vibration

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J

JRaymond

Freshman Member
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Hey everyone,

I'm a new member. I know a fair amount about cars and am looking at buying a '97 XJ6 or '98 XJ8. I have question.

I drove a '97 XJ6 with 88,000 miles; it was in average condition. To me, the engine seemed to have a vibration to it and this made me hesitant about the car. I then drove a '97 with 36,000 miles and it too, seemed to have this same vibration. It's not severe, but feels a little bit like something is out of balance. I wondered why you would design an engine with a vibration like that.

I then drove a '98 XJ8 with 69,000 miles. It had no such vibration. Is this vibration I felt with the six just the way they are? Or, should a '97 idle just as smooth as a '98?

I suspect many will try to convince me I really ought to get the V8, just on general principle, rather than the six. I really don't care about horsepower; the 245 of the six is more than adequate for me And the EPA mileage rating on the two engines is virtually the same. The fact that there is about a $4000 price difference between a '97 and a '98 makes the '97 quite attractive.

Was the V8 in '98 any more reliable than the '97 six?

-Jim Raymond
 
Welcome to the forum. The only thing that I can answer for you here is on the six-cylinder engines. They should be as smooth as silk, so it must be a coincidence that two engines exhibit the same traits. Definitely unusual.
 
Jim,
I have an '88 3.6 litre and my friend drives a '91 4.0 litre which is the same engine as in the 2 6-cylinder cars that you drove. Both our cars drive as smooth as silk (although I thing the 3.6 runs smoother) Chances are that both those Jags had the same malady which is usually cleared up by an adjustment to the MAF (mass air flow) It is often ignored and can become restricted easily with road grime. As a result - rougher running vehicle.
 
Jim,
I wanted to give you my opinion regarding the V-8 versus the 6 cylinder XJ6s. 1997 was the last year for the 6. Jag introduced this AJ6 engine into production in the UK versions of the car in 1986. In 1990, the engine was re-speced to give it 4.0 litres and slightly more horsepower. By 1997, the bugs had all been worked out of these cars and the 1997 model year was one of the best Jaguar ever built.
They then went into the V-8, which actually does not produce much more horse power as far as I know. I believe it is a 4.0 litre as well. I do know that Jag, BMW and I believe Mercedes went into using a NIkasil lined engine. This engine in many cases for all the Marquees proved to be a disaster early on.
If it were me, I would do research regarding the Nikasil engine and then go with the 1997.
 
Both of the engines (6 and V8) should run smooth as silk and the 6 (by physics) should be smoother than the V8. Both engines have excellent service records and the early bugs should have been corrected under warranty. There is very little difference in performance between the two cars: both have the capability to win you many speeding tickets. Buy the best condition car for cosmetics and general service and dont worry about the engine difference. They both are great cars.
 
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