after doing a fair bit of research I'm pretty much heart set on an ajv8 it seems to be very well liked on this forum and the most reliable for the money I'm thinking of spending. however i found a thread on another forum of a blown ajv8

www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f10/blown-4-4-aj-v8-engine-195555.html

it seems to be the only one i can find but just thought i would ask on here to see if this engine has any known weak points ?

also read about the ajv8 not having hardened valve seats and either require replacement heads or flashlube ?what exactly does this mean ? and at what millage do you need to address this on this engine ?

sory i know I'm going on a bit but i tend todo this before buying and try to find out as much as possible. it has served me well in the past ! all info and help is much appreciated

From my limited research on the web, I noticed that the AJV-8 (apart from cam chain tensioner issues on the early generation) is a bullet proof engine. Both the SC and NA version seem to be doing extremely well, compared to the BMW V8 and TDV8 engines (TDV8 seems to suffer from turbo related issues, not a lot maybe but a significant number of forum members have had or heard of issues).

For this excellent reputation lead me to my current 5.0 SC choice (after rejecting a TDV8 with a failed turbo, even though the dealer would have replaced it).

If you convert it to LPG then the flashlube system seems to be a good investment and I would definitely do that. The normal petrol version should be fine without. MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

The hardened valve seats/flashlube issue is only a concern if you go LPG. It's not an issue if you run petrol. If you go LPG, make sure you go to a reputable installer who's done many AJV8s.

The only issue issue I'm aware of, engine-wise is the throttle body gets carbonned up and will eventually need cleaning. I had mine done at about 120K mikes. It's a fast simple job and easily DIY. I paid about £25 to get my mechanic to do it.

Of course, anything can happen but I've not heard of issues. You want a car that's been regularly serviced and give it a pre-purchase inspection.

Hi, mine is doing LPG with flash lube and I am very happy with it. There is no difference in power between petrol or lpg but I think it is a tad noisier on lpg although my wife doesn't hear the difference.
The car has done 78000 miles, had lpg installed from new, no issues. Success with your search.

Noisier on LPG? I've always felt engines ran slightly softer on LPG and just a shade more sharpness on petrol. V8 or else ...

I too have the supercharged AJV8, with BRC lpg system fitted... You can hear the lpg injectors firing, which makes the engine sound a little noisier with the bonnet up, but you dont get the over run popping and burbling that you do with petrol... I have had no issues with mine either. Currently has 54000 on the clock.