AJ16 Cylinder Head on AJ6 engine.

[PaulE]

The June/July 2012 Jaguar World Monthly mags have a very good article on changing the AJ6 cylinder head for an AJ16 one but the text is 'how to' mainly, the only 'why' being that they are currently available at a cheap price which makes the rebuilding of the AJ6 head uneconomic.

The AJ6 head has always been written up as being prone to gasket failure which I have had and which is mentioned again in this article. It is always treated as just one of those things, but the fact is that it will cost the best part of £1000 to fix which, to me at least, is a fair lump of cash.

Does anybody know whether the AJ16 is a more reliable design which has designed out the propensity to blow gaskets, and if so how. I see that the AJ16 has a redesigned head gasket with a different surround to the bore and different head studs. Is that the only difference which might make it more reliable? Would be nice to know the whole story.

Paul.