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Brake buster -> RE: First gen vs. second gen tensioners (7/3/2008 12:34:42 AM)
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yes, there is an easy way to tell,
apart from the age, which tells me your car may have second generation tensioners , the engine model number will also give us that information . but be care full, as US imported cars are slightly older revisions (MY wise) than the ones sold in the UK.....for obvious reasons....
the original XJ8 V8 engine is known as an AJ26 , the very slightly revised AJ27 V8 engine was fitted from mid 99 onwards, but this would have to be confirmed by VIN and engine number . there are only a few main differences that can be seen from the outside , firstly , the throttle body was fully electronic, there is no vacuum reservoir along side the TB , then there are the VVT solenoids on top of the cam covers, the AJ26 engine had a different setup, but beware these are only fitted to the 4ltr and normally aspirated engines, then there are the spark plug coils, these changed from twin wire operation to a 4 wire system for each coil
this AJ27 engine had second generation tensioners fitted as standard, these are , as you stated , still plastic, and can be seen in my '''' i changed the tensioners myself '''' post i put up a few months back, they are more durable than the original ones, but still fail in a very similar way, third generation tensioners were still plastic, and only the 4th generation metal ones from the revised 4.2 V8 are recommended for replacement,
there are a few more modifications to an AJ27 engine, but its all a bit technical, lol
hope this helps
BB
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