I put a video together documenting changing my 98 XJR over to 3rd gen tentioner's, chains, water pump and thermostat. I had a hard time finding information on how to do this job so i thought it might help some people out. Excuse the crude editing. Just trying to get some information to other owners.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n4894bI8-M

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDOFhcKId1s

Enjoy!

 

Nice job, just a sidenote, you should always disconnect the ground of a battery first. It is safer and the battery is no longer "hot".

 

Whoops, thankyou. I annotated the video.

 

Nice job on the video! If you want to re-shoot a new one with updated comments and knowledge you have gained,I am willing to donate my car for the job. : )

 

I will donate the use of my XKR if you want to make a directors cut.Nice Job, it helps to see the actual job being done. Thanks

 

I can feel my kohones growing already. Getting the nerve up to tackle this daunting task is my only hold up, and the cash. But like all tasks one piece at a time slow and steady, you made this appear very managable.

If I can inquire what was the total tool cost?

Very nice job!!!!

Thank you for the inspiration.

 

I would be interested to know what tools you used to get the harmonic balancer center bolt off, and which way you turned it to loosen it.
Thanks.

 

ysgeye, There is a special tool for securing the pulley while removing the center bolt, which comes out in a normal anticlockwise direction. They are torqued very high, so a 3ft breaker bar and a pair of heavy gloves is recommended. In the case of my car, the bolt came out without trouble, using the securing tool and some grade 8 bolts used as pins slid into the pulley holes. I was told getting the bolt out would be the hardest part of the job, so when I got it out easily, I was relieved. Then the task of getting the pulley off the shaft became a nightmare. It had been smeared with red loctite, and I pulled the threads out of 1 hole with the harmonic balancer puller. When it popped as I turned the centre screw on the puller, I thought the pulley had come free. Alas, it was the bolt pulling out the threads. I then had to remove the radiator, grill, intercooler, etc to gain access, so I could drill out and tap in new threads. Not to scare you, as I am sure that is a very unusual circumstance, but I was beside myself for a while. It worked out OK in the end, between stints of -25º in my then unheated garage. The wait for warmer weather gave me time to fret about it.

I have also heard of people using a bar to secure the drive plate, instead if using the pulley securing tool, but I could not see how to do that on my car, without fear of wrecking something. It may be that an XJ8 has better access to the drive plate than an XJR. Whatever you do, do not wedge anything into the timing holes on the flex plate. If you distort them, your timing will be shot.

 

Thanks for the info. I guess I need to find a tool like that. Last night, I did talk to a couple of mechanics who said that the way they get center bolts loose is to put a breaker bar with a socket on the center bolt, rest the breaker bar on the frame (on top or on bottom, depending on the rotation of the motor), and then bump the starter a couple of times and the bolt is off.
They did mention that I should either take out the radiator or put something between it and the motor to protect the radiator from getting trashed in case the socket and breaker bar come off.
My car won't even rotate right now using the starter. I suppose the battery is too weak, though when hooked up, all the lights come on, the radio works, and so does the security system.

 

I have heard about the starter method... sounds easy, but scary! Seems like you need a battery charger before trying that.

There is a link to an excellent writeup on the chain replacement procedure in the Jaguar XJ8/XJR forum under XJ8 / XJR FAQ quick links. I highly recommend having a look at that if you are serious about changing everything out. I reviewed it before doing mine and it was a big help. The author used a pry-bar wedged in place on the drive plate bolts, but unfortunately, no photo of that exact step. I was able to get the proper tool, so did not attempt it. I also had the JTIS manual, which is also recommended.

Many people only do the secondary tensioners, which is a much quicker job and no need to take off the harmonic balancer. I had to replace my chains, as one of the secondaries had stretched. Otherwise I may have settled for secondaries only, however there is more piece of mind in replacing the whole system.

There is a tool section somewhere on the forum, but I have not checked it out. It may give you some insight to the crank pulley tools.

 

Update:
I hooked up a good battery to the car and tried to bump the starter, but it wouldn't turn. Since I have it up on jack stands on the front, I am wondering if it has a "tow" feature which would prevent the starter from engaging in case the front end is lifted up (though, I have seen cars parked on greater inclines than what I have it on).
Since the car hasn't been started in quite some time, I am also wondering if there might be a reset button somewhere (like there is for the crash feature for the pump which would have to be reset in case of an accident) in order to restore the starter's ability to engage.
Or maybe there is a feature which prevents the motor from turning with the starter if all the ignition coils aren't hooked up or something else under the hood.

 

Update on the harmonic balancer center bolt: I had a length of nylon ribbon that I doubled, and attached to the harmonic balancer in such a way that when turning the center bolt, the nylon would get tighter on the pulley. I also tied the free end(s) of the ribbon to the stablizer bar. Put the socket on the bolt, had a breaker bar on the socket and a 30 inch cheater pipe on the breaker bar. The bolt loosened very smoothly since it was pretty hard to actually turn the bolt until it was about 3/4 way out of its hole.
Now I am trying to get the balancer off. I have already tried 2 harmonic balancer pulleys, but they have not worked so far even when tightening the puller and tapping the balancer with a ball peen hammer (not hard, mind you, to keep from damaging the balancer). I have tried spraying it with liquid wrench, but no luck so far.

 

We probably should have started a new post, as we are treading all over MustangTyson's video link, which I enjoyed viewing. Nice job Tyson!

Yysegye, you no doubt recall the description of my difficulties with the pulley removal process. They can be a challenge for sure. Are you using the nylon to hold the pulley from turning as you tighten on the puller? I assume so, and that was a creative approach. I applied heat to mine, but I caution you on that as there is a rubber dampener ring on the back side of the pulley. You can not detect it from the front, so I thought I was safe. Not sure if the heat helped any, but in the end I used a large amount of torque on the puller before it came loose. After it finally started to budge, it came free. It only needs to move a couple of mm before it loosens up. The threads on my puller showed signs pf stress before the job was complete. The write-up article I referred you to mentioned the need for a lot of force on the puller too. I like the method of securing the pulley from turning that you are using over mine. I had the camshaft locking bars in place to hold the engine. I needed so much force, I was worried about damaging the cams or the heads, but it was OK in the end. Again, I applied a lot of force. I assume you need to do the same. Good luck.

 

JWT, I have tried three different types of pullers. All three started to bend the bolts holding the puller to the pulley. I stopped before they distorted too badly, but that means, I suppose, that I will have to find a puller made specifically for the Jaguar. On Ebay, some guy wants $200 for the puller, or rent it for $50 for 3 weeks. Lincoln won't even sell the tool. I can't find the number for the local Jag dealer, but I suppose they have the same attitude about selling the tool - they want to do the job, not have you save money.
I would think that I could have the tool made a lot cheaper than $200 though, at a machine shop.

 

Never done that particular job but remember a poster advising that you need to get #8, high tensile strength bolts as the ones normally with a puller are not strong enough

 

Ysgeye,
I used a basic harmonic dampener puller with the fanned out plate and a fairly large centre screw. I used grade 8 bolts and had the puller lined up so the bolts pulled in a straight line. I used some large washers on the plate to help distribute the force on the plate and made sure both bolts were set to pull evenly. My puller had holes for 4 bolts, but only two could be used to keep the plate on the puller parallel to the pulley. I pulled on the two on the same radius of course. (if I recall correctly, there are 3 threaded holes in the pulley) If you do that, I do not see how they can bend, as you will be pulling in a straight line. The writeup article I referred you to mentioned bending the bolts too, but I am not sure what he used as a puller. With my puller, I could perhaps imagine breaking a bolt, but not bending one. Hope that makes sense. PM me if you like and I will try to explain better if this is not helping.