Just took off the drivers side cam cover to sort out an oil leak and check what tensioners I had fitted. I made the mistake of buying the gasket set first before checking what I had but the Britparts description was for 1996-1999, mine is 1998 so I thought i couldnt go wrong. However on removal, the spark plug seals were individual items instead of being 2 spark plug seals jointed to a bolt seal as one item which is what was in the kit. Can I just trim off the web?

 

Phanc,
Is it possible that the last man in put the later separate seals by mistake?
The 'pair of spectacles' plug seal is correct for the 98. (certainly is for mine)

They should fit as they are.

Mike

 

there's no recess for it to fit. I'm thinking now that its a nikisil replacement engine, yet the previous owner said it was the original. Also I've managed to dodge a bullet, the plastic cooling pipe where the temperature sensor fits is cracked. Just noticed a red residue on it and there it was,a 3 inch fine crack upto the engine flange!

 

Ah. I just did what I should have done first and checked JEPC. It shows the spectacles up to engine 9810290000, so a change late October 98.
Of course that's only of use if it's the orginal motor.

Pain isn't it? You might be OK trimming what you have, but you're in there for an oil leak in the first place, and now the car's in bits. Do the separates have the same profile as the spectacles (other than the joining piece)?

I love jobs like this...

Good news on catching the plastic fail.

M

 

The seal profile looks pretty much the same other than the molded web. Think I'll trim it and just to make sure, put some RTV on it. Just checked for the replacement engine plate and its no there so it must be an original.

 

What a pain this job is! Moving onto the passenger side I've come across the dip stick issue, what idiot designed that? got to go and get some dremel cutting discs to sort it. I broke a connector clip on one of the coils too, hoping I can fix it in place with a cable tie routed under he coil. Both tensioners are rev 2 and a small crack is visable. I if'd an r'd over tensioners v full change out but as the cheapest I can get 2 secondary tensioners is about £100, a full chain kit is £175, so 'm going for the full change. Fan pack and top bottom hoses are off. Took the accessory belt off and checked out the pulleys. The tensioner pulley is rough, the idler is even rougher. I've got the flanged idler but from what I've read its no longer available and has been replaced with a plain pulley like the tensioner. About £45 quid from Britparts however after looking it up on the web, it appears that the Gates part 38006 is a direct replacement, ebay £15 ! Also while researching the job, I found out that the bonnet has a maintenance position. Not heard of that before but it makes a massive difference to the room available at the front end. Just pop off the gas struts on the bonnet, you may need a helper as it will want to close with only one strut attached. Then open the bonnet to the vertical position and you will notice a hole on the hinge mechanism, put an M10 bolt in both holes and a nut to make sure they stay on. Doing this means that bonnet removal is not necessarily to do the timing chains.
I almost forgot, I spun the water pump pulley to check the pump and the pulley has a 2mm runout! I took off the pulley and cleaned the flange/ pulley maiting surface and it made no difference. Tried it on the spare pump that the car came with and that was about 0.5mm out. Also! I took a look at the plugs, the colour is spot on but the gaps were 2mm! I'm surprised it ever ran

 

Just an FYI, you can change the idler pulley bearings, about £3 for a set, not done it myself but will when I have to.

 

I'd like to see you try and change the bearings as they seem to have been moulded in place. There is a lip on both sides to hold it in place and it doesnt seem to be a removable part. I tried to scrape the plastic off to reveal the outer race but no amount of pounding with a lump hammer and socket would remove it. I'm not taking any chances with it now as its likely to shatter in use.

 

While I'm waiting for the dremel discs I borrowed the boroscope inspection camera from work to check the primary guides. Both cracked on the bottom fixing hole. So I feel vindicated in going this far but still reeling from the costs that are mounting up. Still, I suppose its cheaper I find out in the garage than the road

 

Phanc,
I haven't tried to do this, but GGG suggested the old trick of locknutting two nuts on the dipstick stud and removing the stud itself. Apparently the tube can be pulled out of the block (with the help of brute force and PB-Blaster!) once the nut is out of the way.

A little off-topic, but RD has the later pulleys that are metal and altogether a better bet. TBH, if yours are plastic I'd change the whole thing: there have been reports of them self-destructing. The flange was deleted on the later cars anyway.

You will sleep better once this plastic cr*p is out of the way
Mike

 

I removed the cap from the top of the passenger side cam cover and scoped that side. Found the same there too! If anyone tries to tell you that you only need to be concerned with secondary tensioners they have got their heads in the clouds.I was just going to do the secondaries but I had the camera just to make sure, it's a good job I checked. Whilst I was at it I scoped the pistons ans bores. Only a trace of carbon on the piston crowns and more supprising was that the honing mark's were still visable on the bores and not a trace of a wear lip at the top of the stroke, after 126k miles is amazing. Wonder if the engines with steel liners are in the same condition?

 

'I haven't tried to do this, but GGG suggested the old trick of locknutting two nuts on the dipstick stud and removing the stud itself.'

It would work if it was not for the fact that the nut on the stud is actually a part of the stud. So all you would end up doing is bending the dipstick tube tab and either damaging the thread or locking everything up. I gave up waiting for the dremel discs and used a junior hack saw to cut the tab, then it could be belt out of the way.

 

Understood.
Where is the supporting bracket for the tube on your car? On mine it's way below the cam cover and doesn't appear to be in the way. The location changed but I was under the impression that was a good while later.

The cylinder condition clearly shows one of the benefits Nikasil was intended to bring. Other than the bore wash susceptibility these motors should continue for a very long time.
How many this side of the pond were replaced because of that rather than failed bore coatings. Perhaps the dealerships did the right thing, but I wonder...

Apologies for rolling OT again.

 

The dip stick tube support sits on top of the nut of one of the cam cover studs and is held by another nut

 

The balancer pulley remover came yesterday, they should done for trades descriptions but I think the issue is the Jaguar design rather than the pulley itself. After wrestling with the crank bolt, 3 ft breaker bar and another 3ft of scaffold tube, using the rope trick down a plug hole, it gave free. I pulled a muscle in my shoulder in the process but hey ho. On with the puller, came about 2mm before it started to bend. No worries I thought as that was what I was expecting given what I'd read on the forum. So next step out with the hammer and give it a tap as others have done. Nothing! so on with the puller again, it seemed to go another 0.5mm or so them locked. Out with the hammer and nothing. I couldnt really swing the hammer with the radiator in the way so it had to go! Its more of a pain of course but the extra room it gives is worth it. The aircon isnt an issue as I've an F gas cert and I've got the gear to recover the refrigerant and put it back. The only fly in the ointment was the bottom tranny connection to the radiator, the threads were chewed up but as I couldnt see any metal coming off it looks like it was a PO. May be a new radiator!. Anyway, with the extra room I could swing the hammer, nothing! At this point I was fearing the worst in that it would have to be cut off and replaced but I thought I'd give the blow lamp a try. After 30 seconds of warming I heard a crack, back on with the puller and it flew off! Result
Next, timing cover off, that fought back as it was stuck on but after running a knife around the joint it fell off. The slippers were as expected with a few more cracks where I couldnt get the camera in but I found the A bank primary chain was loose, the tensioner wasnt all the way out. That explains a noise I had on overrun, must have been chain slap. Other than some more stripping thats as far as I can go as the chain kit wont be here till Thursday