Hi Jag lovers!

Does anyone know the diameter of the valve adjustment shims diameter?

I have 2003 S Type 2.5 with valve noise when I accelerate. I was at the repairshop for diagnostics and all parameters are ok. Nothing unusual hasnt been found. So I want to make sure valve clearance is ok. If I have to make adjustments I will need valve adjustment shims, but I want to know first what is their diameter before I start anything. I want first to know where I can buy them.

 

Has anyone removed the cam cover on the side making the noise to determine if there is wear to the cam lobe(s)? Is the noise coming from the VVT unit?

Refer to JTIS Workshop Manual under Powertrain for the correct tools and procedure to use to inspect the valve clearances. Having to adjust the valves on the Duratec engine is quite rare.

 

Has it done very high miles?

 

Car's mileage is 104000km.
The sound resembles valves very much, but then again I dont know the sound of vvt.
One repairman told me that in some cases on those engines valve seats are a bit soft and clearance becomes less than it should be. Also I found an article on internet about valve adjustment on x type (2.5 or 3.0 not sure) with only 15000km and he found that, I think, 2 of 6 valve clearances were less then it should be.
Valve covers are currently leaking a little bit and I am planing on fixing that. While doing that I want to check valve clearances and adjust them if necessary.

 

INFO for you.
It is a PITA but have-at-it if you need to.

bob

 

I have seen this pdf, and I am not sure is this tool correct for 2003 s type... I have downloaded whole repair manual for s type 2002.5 onward and in that pdf tool number is 303-717.

My question remains unanswered, does anyone know the diameter of the valve adjustment shims?

 

The diameter of the shims is not the issue, but the thickness of each one is.

The 2.5 litre unit is a Ford Duratec, which is quite robust. Perhaps you can have your question answered in one of two ways: remove the leaking cam cover(s) and measure the diameter with a micrometer, or see if the diameter is listed somewhere via Ford.

 

I was hoping that someone has one of those V6 engines lying around with open valve train and with a micrometer hanging on the wall beside the workbench...

I need a diameter of the shims so I could ask local part dealers, junk yards, engine overhaul workshops, etc... do they have shims of that particular diameter. If they do and have various thicknesses, I can venture into valve clearance check and adjustment if necessary. I get nothing by opening engine without possibility to get the necessary parts...
Hope you understand me...

 

Forgive me, but I believe you need to obtain the correct shims from a Jaguar agency, or through Ford.

It may be possible to use shims from another brand of engine, but it is best to stick with the correct shims designed to fit the Duratec. You still need to remove the cam covers and perform the clearance check to determine the thickness of the shims that may be need to bring the clearance back within specification.

So, you must either take the clearance measurements, or obtain a set of adjustment shims designed specifically for that engine and stick to the procedure provided by Bob in his post number 5 above.

Doing it any other way is 'putting the horse before the cart'.

 

Not for anything but if bad seats were the problem, wouldn't that reduce clearance not increase it to the point where the valvetrain was noisy? Might act like a vacuum leak or a miss but I don't think you would get noise unless they fell out of the head like the v12s used to do then you get a whole lot of clearance and noise.