Update: Here's the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHK1l...ature=youtu.be

So I did the secondary cam chain tensioners in my buddy's garage last night. It only took 3-3.5 hours! I used the zip tie method. I was careful to relieve pressure on the cam by spinning the motor until none of the exhaust lobes were pushing the valves. This was possible on the right, the left had a little pressure on it when I tightened it back down.

There was a good bit of oil in some of the spark plug holes. My buddy made a quick parts run for me, so we could replace the O-rings too. Does that generally cure this problem?

Anyways, it still makes some chain noise once it's warmed up. I guess it's time to prepare to do the primaries. Ugh.

Here's the pics

 

Are you sure it's chain noise ? The VVT units sometimes start to make noise after some time and mileage. I guess you could try a stethescope to localize the noise.

 

I am absolutely not sure. I tried to look at the primaries with a flashlight and couldn't see anything obviously wrong.

Any tips on how to check the VVT units? Where in the heck are they? The noise is not present when the car is cold.

I'll take a video so y'all can hear it.

 

Did you use the shorter bolts that the new tensioners require?

If not then oil pressure bleeds out between the tensioner and head where the oil passage runs. That leads to less or no oil pressure for the VVT.

 

Supercharge = No VVT. When exactly does this engine make a noise? What does the noise sound like? Poor oil flow to the tensioners USUALLY is only on cold startup and goes away TYPICALLY when the engine is revved up after a minute or so of idling (in the shop) Driving them right away will take the rattling out fairly quickly.

 

The engine rattled for perhaps 1 second on start up after replacing the secondary tensioners. It went away immediately, I assume this was the tensioners pumping up. Go for a 30 minute drive and it rattles. But this time it's a different rattle, and sounds worse. It won't rattle for minutes on a cold start up. I haven't yet tried to cold start and then wait for the rattling to start.

It rattles badly once it is warmed up, and on subsequent warm start ups.

I was really hoping this was a VVT issue that higher viscosity oil would fix, lol.

 

Also, it did the exact same thing before I replaced the secondary tensioners.

 

I definitely used the new shorter bolts. Can't you see from the picture? lol

Give me some credit yall, I am a mechanical engineer. Though I'm not sure if buying this thing was the smartest thing I've done. If I can get his problem licked I'll be infinitely happier.

 

Have you replaced your oil with higher viscosity yet? Can't tell from your posts.

As to giving you some credit - You have 10 posts here, to date... We don't know who you are nor what your technical abilities are (this applies to any poster). Without filling out a full resume, you are just going to have to put up with some questions that may seem like 'DUH' to you, because if we DON'T ask them we DON'T know whether they are an issue or not and we are not doing our job. It's not like we have the ability to look over your shoulder or to ask your boss about your capabilities.

Honestly, even if you had 1000 posts, we'd have to go back and read a bunch of them to determine that you really know what you're doing... it's just easier to ask the 'duh' question!

 

I haven't tried the higher viscosity oil yet. But it's high on my to do list.

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

I bought this car because I didn't hear any noises on start up. I was pretty upset once I took my first decent drive and heard the noise.

 

let's see a video, hearing it might pinpoint the issue?

 

Was there much slack between the secondary chain and the new secondary tensioners. When I did mine I could place my finger between the two and ended up replacing one of the chains as well. The chain was hitting the covers as well before I took it all apart to change the tensioners and then it skipped a tooth forcing me to do the work. It's been about a year now for me and running great.

 

Hmmm, have you taken off the serpentine belt and supercharger belt to ensure it is not an accessory problem? I think the supercharger can rattle a bit at idle and no load. That is surely a different sound than the tensioners.

 

I'm pretty sure I had good tension both before and after on the secondaries. The old ones hadn't actually blown apart yet.

I'll take some vid here shortly. I tried to before work but my phone died.

 

yep, a little or alot depending on the amount of backlash in the gears and rotors. But this goes away once you increase load and pretty much is only idle. So ide agree with this too depending on noise

 

2000 XJR Idle Noise - YouTube

 

I'll try it this weekend. It seems to be coming from the cam or front cover area though.

What's a supercharger replacement run? Is a rebuild or replace the only way to fix SC noise?

This car has 89k miles BTW.

 

That does sound more like a chain/tensioner noise than supercharger from the video. Hmmmm, can you check oil pressure? I remember some engines needing oil pumps. Not many but they had low pressure most of the time. If you remove the oil cap, can you see a good amount of oil getting to the cam lobes that you see through the hole?

 

I'll take a look. Is there a scan tool I can use to see the actual oil pressure? Hell, if it's a Bosch ECM I probably have the equipment to do it at work.

Thanks a bunch for your help. Looks like I'll plan on doing primaries. Just need to order the stuff and schedule some time in my buddy's garage. Not having a garage blows! I hate to impose.

 

Where is the oil pressure sensor and what are the threads? I can probably T off of it and get some readings.