question J60 Jaguar 4.2l engine variations

[robin craig]

I was speaking with someone yesterday who stated that there were variations in the design of the J60.

 

I am told that some had dry liners and some did not and there is a way to tell the difference by the engine serial numbers.

 

Can anyone shed some light on this subject?

 

R

[FourFox]

Niels

 

I have had a dig in the scrap bin and found a load of bits from the incident.

This should give you some idea of the size if the bang!

 

 

 

Jon

[Niels v]

must have sounded like armageddon when it happende

[timbo]

Blimey looks like something from one of those aeroplane disaster documentaries..

 

I should hang onto those bits though Jon you never know when they might come in handy..! There must be some unwritten law that says one week after you have binned the piece of junk you have been hoarding for years you find a perfect use for it (or is it just me?)..

[ChasSomT.]

(Richard, post #26)

My recollection of my experience - definitely recall the dreaded flat spot, right where you didn't want it, pulling away in 2nd!

The biggest thing I remember was the ignition points 'closing up'. Some vehicles a lot more prone than others. I pulled into a stop in a German wood, with a light blue flame from the silencer outlet pipe all the way to the ground. 08FD64 (RBJ fault, no ic to driver!)

We heard that the 'Standard Army distributor' had to run backwards on the J60, so the points were banged open, then closed gently, down the ramp on the cam! All totally cured by the electronic ignition fitted sometime after the carb. mods!

With reference to the 'Over-revving' a good friend working at 27 Command Workshops modified a Ferret(?) rotor arm with the centrifugal rev 'limiter' to fit the Fox distributor, but was 'shouted down'!

I can believe three figures on the speedo, I had the needle well to the left of the MPH at the bottom of the dial for a few miles going West on the M4, 08FD97, you beauty, what happened to you?

Brilliant days!

 

'Chas.'

Edited February 15, 2012 by ChasSomT.
Generally poor !

[Marmite!!]

(Richard, post #26)

08FD97, you beauty, what happened to you?

Brilliant days!

 

'Chas.'

Not far off 08FD92 I believe is/was owned by Jon

[Richard Farrant]

(Richard, post #26)

My recollection of my experience - definitely recall the dreaded flat spot, right where you didn't want it, pulling away in 2nd!

The biggest thing I remember was the ignition points 'closing up'. Some vehicles a lot more prone than others. I pulled into a stop in a German wood, with a light blue flame from the silencer outlet pipe all the way to the ground. 08FD64 (RBJ fault, no ic to driver!)

We heard that the 'Standard Army distributor' had to run backwards on the J60, so the points were banged open, then closed gently, down the ramp on the cam! All totally cured by the electronic ignition fitted sometime after the carb. mods!

With reference to the 'Over-revving' a good friend working at 27 Command Workshops modified a Ferret(?) rotor arm with the centrifugal rev 'limiter' to fit the Fox distributor, but was 'shouted down'!

I can believe three figures on the speedo, I had the needle well to the left of the MPH at the bottom of the dial for a few miles going West on the M4, 08FD97, you beauty, what happened to you?

Brilliant days!

 

'Chas.'

 

Chas,

 

You are spot on about the distributor running backwards, why they never modified the base plate and points before the vehicle went into production, we shall never know. The points for a J60 were different to a RR B range, as they had a thicker heel to compensate for the rapid wear. The reason your friend was shouted down over the rotor arm, was that it had been tried initially but if run on the governer, it could cause damage to the engine. The CVR(T) limiter worked on the electronic igniiton as was not so harsh in operation.

 

Speed, yes, I saw the speedo needle on the P and we worked it out as being 90, I recall passing every vehicle on the road, then got to a roundabout and met them on our return run, faces were a picture !!

 

Richard

[ChasSomT.]

Not far off 08FD92 I believe is/was owned by Jon

I thought it rather strange, the ARNs of our Foxes. They were mostly 08FD**, some 09FD**, some 10FD** One of our first was 11FD20, I never saw another 11FD, and one was 00GM90. I saw a few **GMs about.

'My' first was 08FD64, as I said previously it had a faulty RBJ which meant the driver heard the radios far louder than the ic.

On a fortnights camp it had the points 'close up' 4 times, and on Crusader 80, or Lionheart, whichever one we drove from Belgium, we ran out of fuel on the autobhan, with the guage showing over half. It turned out to be a hole three quarters of the way up the petrol pick-up pipe in the tank. It also had a charging relay fault: parked up, engine running, I used to see the Voltmeter on the radio showing alarmingly low numbers and had to be brave and get the driver to switch off and restart the engine, it always did, it was warm. We would then get the characteristic whine in the 'bonedomes' telling us the batteries were charging again. You could always tell the driver had plugged the BV in by the same method.

08FD97 I had brand spanking new, only delivery miles. She was a beauty, lovely light steering, one handed at 80+ on the motorway, no problem! Those were the days!

 

'Chas.'

[Lewis Garner]

Hello chaps, great thread, thanks for starting it Robin.

Had a quick look at our J60 tucked in the shed today and took a couple of photos. I don't think this has been mentioned, anyone know what this 'FF' stands for?

Regards,

Lewis

[Marmite!!]

One of our first was 11FD20,

 

 

Getting closer. 11FD19 again one of Jon's

 

Mine is 09FD82

[Richard Farrant]

I thought it rather strange, the ARNs of our Foxes. They were mostly 08FD**, some 09FD**, some 10FD** One of our first was 11FD20, I never saw another 11FD, and one was 00GM90. I saw a few **GMs about.

 

I see from some of my notes from way back when, that I worked on 11FD21 in 1980, when it was with 2RTR. I think that it was on a KAPE tour and had to have a power steering unit removed, got it finished in time for them to go to Beltring. We did used to get a Fox in with a **HA** number.

[david56]

They must be clearing out these engines see how many there are on the Withams Tender this month

[Marmite!!]

[h=2]The XK Joins the Army.[/h]http://www.jagweb.com/jagworld/xk-engine/page4.html

[DownRange762]

My thanks for such an informative thread. As the new owner of a Fox and living in the very southern U.S. cooling is always a concern. Lacking access here in the States to the wealth of experience available from those that worked on these vehicles while they were in service I'd like to raise the question of what, if anything, could be or was done to improve the cooling situation beyond block modifications? Either operational changes in they way they were operated or other modifications to the vehicles while in service?

[timbo]

I dont know about operational mods but have you thought about trying WaterWetter. Never used it in an mv but have used it in racing motorcycles with some success. Cooling is not usually something we have to worry about in the uk!

[Manylandrovers]

I have just found pictures of the 2 different types of J60 head gasket. (for all you anoraks out there)

 

Early type Mk100...no inter-cylinder cooling holes or slots.

 

Later type Mk101..showing the extra cooling holes.

 

Note the home made timing distibutor. It ensures that you get the distributor gear on the same cycle as the camshafts, an not a tooth or two wrong, or even 360 degrees out...a common fault without one of these!

 

Jon

hi all, I found this thread very useful as I tried to start my j60 that been sitting around for about 2 years outside (in its crate) I got as far as a cough when I resorted to tipping a little bit of petrol down the carb throats, but then the engine locked solid. It will rotate to a certain point, lock up, then backwards to a certain point then lock again, so I reckon a stuck valve. It's a ribbed block, and I'm in the process of stripping it down. The question is, can anyone give me the part numbers for the piston, head gasket and and exhaust valve?

Thanks Andrew

[timbo]

Sounds like you may be right. Have you had the cam covers off - then you should be able to see if there is a stuck valve?

 

Xmod have head gaskets but I dont know about the valve and piston. I imagine there is a good chance the piston will be ok?

 

Good luck!

[Manylandrovers]

Yes had them off; it's no 4 exhaust valve. I suspect it's bent as I've drowned the spring and stem in oil and tried to tap it down with a drift but no good, the head will have to come off.....

[Manylandrovers]

The head gasket above seems to be the same as HG266, for sale on eblay...at a price.

[Manylandrovers]

Well the heads off and I'm a bit gutted. The head of the exhaust valve had snapped off, and firing it up just for that cough had caused the head of the valve to embed itself in the piston and part of the stem to embed itself in the head. Neither are difficult to fix but it was only ever meant to be be a plaything (!) not something that I was going to pour hundreds of pounds at. Both the block and the rest of the head are in excellent condition, so I may consider it...Once that's done I only need head, exhaust and inlet gaskets, only the head gasket I don't have.

[sirhc]

Head gaskets are the easy bit!

 

http://www.thexmod.com/item_detail.asp?id=3328

 

Chris

[Grasshopper]

I had a couple of engines that only turned a few degrees in each direction. A bit of diesel in the bores (and down the inlet manifold) and repeated turning back and forth of the flywheel with a bar eased them until they would turn over fully. The key thing was that at no point did I force against the seizure as this would have caused damaged. One engine is currently installed and running fine, the other is awaiting fitting in its project vehicle.

[Manylandrovers]

Does anyone know who/where I might get a single low comp standard piston from. I've tried David manner group and sngbarrat and neither sell pistons singly.

Andrew

[sirhc]

http://www.xkengineering.com

[Charlie]

On ebay at the moment there is "3 x Jaguar Jag CVRT J60 4.2L 6 cyl engines, 1 long and 2 short engines. Ex-MOD"

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-x-Jaguar-Jag-CVRT-J60-4-2L-6-cyl-engines-1-long-and-2-short-engines-Ex-MOD-/141000959663?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Other_Vehicle_Parts_Accessories_ET&hash=item20d44fe6af

Whats the difference between long and short engines (apart from the obvious that ones long and ones short lol)?

[sirhc]

Long has the head and short doesn't.

 

Seems like a lot of money for a pile of junk, it doesn't sound like there's one complete one between them. When I needed a piston I got it from xk engineering, but banisters probably have them too.