Hi all,

I'm so worried about my chains and tensioners on my 2000 4l s type that I may sell it. I have no real reason to worry, except what I've been reading online (Damn you, internet).

Before I do sell, is there anyone within reasonable travelling distance from Reading that can do it..... Cheap.

I've priced the parts at £250.

Thanks
Mike

 

Sure, I'm just south of Reading.

But whoops, you mean Reading England not Reading Massachusetts don't you...

Damn our forebears for reusing city names
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Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar

 

Your car is pretty old. Maybe they have been changed? It's not hard to check so why don't you pull a cam cover off and take a look at what you have?

It would be terrible if you paid to change them and then find out they have already been done!
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Cheap + Jaguar + near Reading. As if.

Up north, maybe?

Might be cheaper to buy another car if (well, when) they fail. (Sad, but may well be true bearing in mind car prices cf garage prices.)

 

Hi tbird6,

My car has 146k on the clock, so perhaps they have been changed?

Would the originals last that long?

Thanks
Mike

 

They can. It's a lottery. Have a look at the various pics of cracked plastic tensioners.

It's quite cheap (sorry to say this!) to replace the car if the engine does go bang. Big-engined cars, especially petrol ones from upmarket makes, are incredibly undesired here as I expect you know.

 

Hi Jagv8.

That's what I thought, I'll run it til I can get my 4.2 or it goes bang.

Thanks
Mike

 

You don't need to let it blow up. Just keep a sharp ear when starting. They almost always will start to rattle a bit when things start to get loose. Many people have caught it at that point and either fixed it or at least sold a running car!

146K is a lot of miles and that's what made me think it is possible they have been changed.

Are you going to check?
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I've got to change one of the vvt solenoids so yes, I'll check then.

Mine doesn't rattle, but it does have a kind of Camshaft knock when it's cold. If you rev it, it goes. I've been told this could be a vvt solenoid and as I'm getting P1383, that would make sense.

I'm going to have to take both rocker covers off as one of my solenoids feels loose, but it's the other one playing up. Lol.

I looked at an immaculate 3.2 XJ today and was tempted, but I just like my car too much.

Thanks
Mike

 

Replace the car, I've seen a few 4.2 's for around the £1k mark. It would probably cost that to do the tensioners

 

Yes, that's what I'm thinking.

Gonna do my solenoid as I intend on keeping it til the right 4.2 comes along.

Thanks
Mike

 

Hi Mike - the P1383 code doesn't necessarily mean that the solenoid is the culprit. The VVT solenoids rarely go bad - more than likely a clogged VVT passage causing the fault.

Search VVT here on the forum for lots of DIY fixes w/o necessitating the need to replace the solenoid.

 

Hi all,

Well, I changed the solenoid today and noticed I had the metal bodied tensioners which was good news. Just need to see if the solenoid cures my 1383 error.

Also I changed the accelerator pedal as I've been getting engine failsafe mode popping up.

So far, on a 15 mile journey, no errors. Mind you, the 1383 only shows itself on the first thing in the morning warm up so let's see what tomorrow brings.

I must admit, I'm more pleased about the tensioners than I am the lack of errors. Lol.

Thanks
Mike.

 

Nice one Mike, glad to hear all is well so far.......

Hope to hear further news

 

The car is pretty well to go if the tensioners have been taken care of!

Good find and I am glad you looked.
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Hi all,
Just a quick update.

I've had no errors since the solenoid and throttle pedal were replaced.

No I love the car even more. It even feels better to drive but I'm sure that's all in my mind.

Thanks for all the advice.
Mike.

 

No it's not in your mind. A car does drive better when it's all working good.
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