I’ve got a 2001 VDPSC. One of the pads for the timing chain tensioners broke and my engine possibly jumped a timing tooth. (I am not engine savvy so I don’t exactly know what this pad is) The Jag mechanic (independent, not dealer) quoted me about $4000 to replace all tensioners upper and lower. Is all this necessary or can I just have the specific tensioner which had the faulty pad replaced?

New jag owner and the price has me freaked out so any help is appreciated.

 

That is a bit steep it seems for just tensioners, check this... https://repairpal.com/estimator/jagu...placement-cost
It all has to come apart anyways, even if your doing primaries and guides minimum. Your looking at around 10-12 hrs of labor + parts. If he's like my Inde', he gets his stuff from the Jag dealer. But I'd get a second estimate....he sounds proud of his work.
He didn't say anything about head work did he? That's the only thing I can figure for that kind of cost.

Here's what has to be done... Tmingi chain and tensioner replacement ...even if your somewhat mechanical, this is a doable job. As long as you have a place to do the work.

 

It's best to do all, but if you are on a limited budget and don't necessarily plan on keeping the car for the next ten years you can get by with just changing the secondary tensioners at the top of the engine. If a primary begins to fail it will rattle but the chain won't skip a tooth so the risk is lower. However, the chain guides are also plastic, and pieces that break off could block the oil pump pickup screen. Your mechanic may not be willing to do just the secondaries. Either way, the pan has to come off to clean the pickup screen.

So, bottom line, you're gambling with a chance of losing the engine.

 

You would be wise to do them all.
I'd do them for half that. It's not rocket science.

 

Got it! I am in a time pinch due to moving in a week so I will probably try to get by with just secondary for now and do them myself.

I am wondering if there’s any way to reset the skipped timing on this specific bank without locking the flywheel etc. On the surface it seems like it should be somewhat simple since it probably skipped only one tooth.

 

I agree with HighHorse, $4000 is way overpriced. If that’s for Jaguar oem parts, then maybe I understand. If that’s all aftermarket parts, then that’s about $1000-$1500 too much in my opinion.

You shouldn’t have any issues if you jumped just one tooth. I would do the secondary tensioners for now like you mentioned and then move.

 

Just rotate the exhaust cam one tooth when you have it apart. If you use the zip tie method that's easy. Rotate the engine by hand when you're done to be certain the flats line up.

 

get used to quotes like this

 

thank you. That is what I really needed to know to be confident doing this myself. Seems so obvious now that you said it

 

Ha. Somewhere deep down I expected this when I bought it, but of course I figured “it won’t happen to me” at least not in the first month of ownership…worth it though

 

I guess I would want to know where the pad was: if a pad on top of a secondary tensioner, it would be ok (in the short run) to do just the secondaries. But it would be useful to know what all they were going to do for $4000(?). Some independents want to replace the hoses, belt, idler tensioner, water pump and thermostat and cross over pipe at the same time, along with an oil change and coolant replacement, since much of the same labor is involved. In 2013, my local dealer quoted $2800 for secondaries; the independent, wanted $2000 plus additional if I wanted other, frequently needed, work, as noted above. Add the primaries: could work to $4000 . . . Did they give you a written estimate or just a quote?

 

The upper timing chain tensioners are one of the really serious weak spots on these engines. Starting off made of plastic, eventually this was abandoned and proper metal used instead. As your's is a 2001, I would have thought these tensioners would have been replaced already. It is now very important you do not use the car until those tensioners are fixed, or it may be "end of engine", if valves hit pistons.
This thread has photos of what can happen, and what the metal tensioners look like. Of course even the metal-bodied tensioners have a plastic slipper pad, but I suspect if this breaks the chain won't jump many or even any teeth.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ioners-213611/

Here's what the metal ones look like
https://www.sngbarratt.com/English/#...6-d4c39cf1c46f

 

They gave me a quote over the phone. The way I understand it now is that the $3800 quote was including primaries, secondaries, and head gaskets. I also found out that included the general inspection I asked them to do before. So perhaps it worked out to $3600 total for primaries and secondaries

 

If he's charging you for head gaskets, he must be doing something to the heads or why take them off.

 

May be cam cover gaskets-miscommunication.

 

my bad, that is what I meant. Just replacing them because he opened that part up

 

ok, for a 4k quote. you mechanic better gives you a breakdown of the job like how does it come up with this number?

 

$4k is absurd for that job! I'd recommend ordering up the parts from Terry's or Harper's Jag in Knoxville and do it yourself. Terry's is good, but prices at Harper's have been better on a lot of parts. Spend the few bucks on the tool kit from Amazon for a $100, as well as a tap set for clearing the threads in your crank pulley to pull it and not snap off bolts in corroded threads. I snapped a tap in mine and had to send the car to a shop for them to blast it out, otherwise an easy job and can be done in an afternoon if you have everything onsite. Should cost you a good bit less than $1k to do primaries, secondaries and chains on your own, including the cost of the tools.

 

there are just too many over proud mechanics in this world.

 

Either proud or have too much other work that they are jacking the price.