I'm trying to figure out 'how broken' my 1999 XJ8 really is. I took a chance and picked it up pretty cheap a few months ago, not running at all. The lady said it died the last time she started it. Towed it home, did some research, took off the valve covers, and sure enough, the left cam chain was broken, at 61K. Figuring nothing to lose, my friend and I tried a quick fix from the top, and replaced the broken chain with a master link chain from Christopher's, and replaced both secondary tensioners (one shattered, one cracked) with new parts from the dealer. And it worked! I've been driving the car daily for a couple of months, but I'm not sure where I stand, or what to do with it, because most of the time it accelerates very powerfully and quite smoothly on the open road, making me think there can't be anything too wrong inside, but it still makes distressing rattling and knocking noises most times on starting, and it idles rough, and the check engine light is always on. Code P1396/VVT solenoid. The Resricted Performance light comes and goes, though I don't feel any difference to speak of. It sometimes misfires, but it doesn't stall, never overheats, and it gets pretty good mileage. It's actually a very pleasant car to drive, even in it's present questionable condition. There are no electrical problems, and, at 62K, everything works, the A/C is ice-cold, and the car feels tight. The body has a number of small dents and scrapes. I would really welcome your comments regarding whether these motors can ever survive a low-RPM chain break without internal damage (the compression is good, if not perfect), what things might actually be wrong with it at this point, what you would do next, etc. I don't know if I should make further repairs (short of a new engine), enjoy driving it until it blows up, or sell it now while it's running sort of bad/sort of good. What is it worth? Any offers? A lot of questions, I know. Thanks in advance for any ideas you may have.

 

Thanks for your comments. It does seem like I lucked out on this one, and the problems I'm still having are more typical, less serious issues like a VVT unit or a coil pack, and/or maybe I just haven't got the timing set quite right. There just seemed to be so many reports in Jaguar circles that a chain break equals a destroyed engine that it was hard to reconcile that with the fact of this engine running pretty damn strong after replacing the broken chain and the tensioners. To hear the stories, you'd think it would barely run, if at all. You must be right that under certain circumstances, (a low-speed break), one can get away without serious damage.

As to your cars, I'm new to Jaguars, too, a long-time admirer but not an expert. From what I've read recently, I think that most2001's have the improved tensioners, but some may not. You should read the other posts carefully. Someone mentioned engine numbers that you could check to be sure if yours has the new tensioners. My impression is that the 1998-2000 definitely had the bad ones, and the 2002-2003 definitely had the good ones, with the changeover taking placecirca 2001, so it bears a closer looking into, to be sure what you have.

Generally, I've always thoughtthat, with proper tensioners, chains, unlike belts, should last indefinitely, but I guess we should find out if Jaguar thinks otherwise. BTW, your screen name, Volvo P1900, do youHAVE one of those? I've seen pictures, but never the actual car. I know a couple of guys with P1800's, but a P1900 must be rare, indeed. Rudy.