Reputable Repair shops in Houston
 

I will be going back to Texas for a week at the end of this month. I was thinking about possibly having my car worked on (timing chain, guides, tensioner) in Houston rather than here. Does any know any reasonably priced and reputable shops in Houston?

What side of town, what engine and mileage?
You know it takes a hour to go from houston to houston

I’m going to be all over... Sugar Land, Katy, Downtown. I don’t mind shops in the surrounding areas either. Just not east, towards Pasadena or baytown. That side is kinda bad lol. It’s a 5.0 SC with 71k miles. By the time I get there 72-73k miles

Okay and brings up my next question. Why do you want to change the tensioners, guides and chains?

Well I have been hearing a very faint rattling. Yesterday my tech and I were going for a drive, and as I started it up, it got really bad where it was a knocking sound, and after a few minutes of idling it would go away. He himself had confirmed that it was the timing components issue.

Reason i ask is because that is very uncommon in a 5.0 with that low of mileage. More common is the sc snout with a weak or failed spring that causes knocking at idle. Goes away once rpm comes up and loading the drive snout pulley. If i were to need work done on 1 of my jags that i didnt want to do i would only take to mike at champions jaguar 281-586-7446. Tell him i sent you.
Bill

Assuming the diagnosis is correct, I would make sure the repair shop also lets you supply your own parts. The parts are at least 20% cheaper getting them yourself and sometimes > 60% cheaper. Jags are already too expensive to repair to pay the parts tax too.

All the best.

+1 about the supercharger. Important to rule out or include in your diagnosis. It makes the louder sound on my car than the timing chain. Mine gets quieter after a few minutes, but it never completely stops making noise. Also hear it as I lightly press accelerator. If you find out it is just the supercharger, it is much cheaper to fix.

Though if you have the older 2010-2013 style guide rails/ tensioners, their replacement is also likely. Mine definitely makes the timing chain noise as well, so I’m having both jobs done simultaneously.

Hey Brutal, is there a way to just change the tensioners and blades of the S/C engines without removing the chains? I saw a video from British Atlantic where the did the timing gear replacement on a N/A engine and after they had locked everything down on the motor, they released the tensioner pressure, unbolted and removed the fixed blade and then removed the tensioning blade. All this was done with the chain still over the sprockets. I may need to do this sometime in the future (I suspect) since my engine probably has the old tensioner and blade design and wondered if you techs had any short cuts or tips when doing this job?

Thanks in advance.

well I have the Supercharger snout with me too. I was replacing it because it’s a issue that’s bound to happen, same with the timing stuff. Also I’m pretty sure it’s chain as well because I can hear like chain rattling or slapping sound from the left side (passenger) of the engine where the upper timing covers are. I feel like I would rather replace timing stuff now rather than down the road when I’m on a trip or somewhere lol. I really appreciate your help and recommendations

I’m replacing the snout as well, it’s just that I hear chain rattling/ slapping sound from the passenger side upper timing cover

FWIW. In my case only tensioners and guides were replaced and it resolved the problem. I had previously had the snout replaced so it was not a concern. My tech at Jaguar has done many tensioner and guide replacements and has yet to find a damaged or stretched chain.

I’ve quite a few people say the same thing, but I just thought no extra labor just pay for the part. Also are all 3 upper and lower timing covers supposed to be replaced or just the lower one?

if you look at my post https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...t-done-214277/ you can see the parts my tech used. Also, while you are there i'd replace my water pump too.

My understanding is the chains stretch over time. That is why the tensioner ratchets, to lock in a new base level of tension as the chain stretches. Please feel free to correct me if I’m in error; I don’t do my own engine work.

I think there is an official zip tie method for those that don’t want to change their chains. It can be found here on the XF forum:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...method-216576/

iirc yes you can

Instead of writing more on this thread perhaps we can take it over to the timing chain tensioner thread. This will make it easier to find in the future. I’ll post my comment there.

The reason we have to replace the tensioners and guides is because JLR in their infinite wisdom made the original guides with a soft mating surface to the tensioner that wore a deep cup into it and could eventually become stuck in the guide.