Fellow Members !

How much can I expect to pay in labor for replacing the water pump, thermostat housing and secondary chain tensioners on a 99 XJR ? The pricing for parts from motocarsltd.com is reasonable, but I have no clue on the labor estimate for this work.

This is for a 99 XJR with 108K miles that I am looking at. Also, would I need to change the spark plugs, O2 sensors, MAF Sensors, spark plugs plus have all the fluids flushed at this mileage ?

Appreciate your input !

Cheers

 

Can't speak to the labor cost as mine is measured in beers.

I don't believe the thermo housing is on the critical list as the 'R' came with metal ones. It was the plastic X*8 housings that are famous for leaking and/or cracking. The water pump is not a bad idea. Without documentation, since you plan on changing the water pump a complete flush of the cooling system would be appropriate.

If you do not have documentation of scheduled service I would plan on the spark plugs for sure. A compression test would certainly be in order during that work.

The O2/MAF sensors will tell you when they need changing.

While your transmission is 'sealed for life' there is no documentation on what 'life' is. I would propose that it is the 'life' of the original warranty.

One little item that gets left out of a lot of scheduled maintenance is the universal joints in the rear half shafts

 

Thanks Test Point ! I can attest to the cost in beers , as I have been enjoying my favorite British Ales (Bombardier and St Peter's to name a few ) in the warm NC weather.

I had the transmission fluid flushed on my Mercedes W210 at 90K (also advertised as sealed for life) and plan do this again in another 30K miles, just wasn't sure of the specifics of the Jaguar's, as I have never owned one.

If the one I am looking at tests out fine, I will get brave and the pull the trigger on this fast cat. It will be a second car for me, and I am really excited about getting it.

 

i have the old bill here for the tensioners at least..this was from a jag dealer in utah..glad i didnt pay for it!

they charged 9.5 hours labor to replace the tensioners valve cover gaskets and and 128.38 each for the tensioners. Also 2 hours labor to change the spark plugs and 161.76 for the plugs. And 1.6 hours labor to clean the injectors..hope this helps some

 

For a 2001 there were 13 hours labor and about $1100 dollars with all chains, Pri&Sec tensioners, guide rails and gaskets. Cam cover gaskets were 200 bucks alone! It makes absolute sense to change the water pump at that time too. The whole front of the engine is exposed anyway. Est time was about 13 labor hours for TC/Tensioners work. The PO paid about $1000 US for labor.($80/hr back in '07)

 

As it appears that you are not a self wrencher, shop around for a good independent technician as their labor rates are usually much lower than the dealers. As to parts, shops will only install parts that they purchase for liability issues, and they do add some markup on them, but it shouldn't be too bad. Also, you can use Lincoln parts for the tensioners on this model, as it is essentially the same as the Lincoln LS 3.9L engine. Search the forums and you will find the parts listing. Your tech would probably be willing to purchase and install those parts if they know anything about these engines.

The number of labor hours that were mentioned previously sound reasonable for the job, so you will simply need to multiply the hours times the rate you find locally and you will have a good idea of your total cost.

I would suggest that you get the VIN number of the car you are looking at and call your local Jag dealer and see if they can tell you whether or not the vehicle shows repair history for these major items before you go ahead and do it.

As to the fluids, it is always a good idea to have the fluids flushed at 60K, even the transmission that is supposed to be a sealed 100K model. You should also do the serpentine belts when you have everything else being done on the front end of the motor.

Good luck!

 

How about a 98 XJ8L? I have one thinking about selling. Have replaced water distribution pipe, water pump, brakes, secondary tensioners, trans rebuilt last July. I think the throttle body was replaced at around 80,000 miles (now has 109,000). Also have paper from dealer that rear wheel bearings were replaced not to long ago. (paper is in car at the moment)

 

Thanks waller4 ! I am really looking for the XJR. The one is question here sold before I could pull the trigger so the search remains open for me.

Cheers

 

13 hours for upper tensioners and 2 hours for plugs when all but the plugs is out of the way???? I wanna work there.....
8 hours upper tensioners and no the front of the motor isnt open for uppers. + 2 hours for water pump with flush, and .5 for gapping and fitting plugs when doing UPPER tensioners along with cleaning out the usual oil filled plug wells. and while doing the water pump replaced both engine and supercharger belt(spr crgr belt every 40k) youll pay alittle more for the belts because your super charged, otherwise I useally dont charge for the belt normally aspirated when doing water pumps.......and yes iI know indepedants that charge less per hour, and make it up charging more hours...actually thats can be anywhere, so just be informed and educated first of whats needed.

 

Brutal is the real expert, there is no doubt. Having done the job myself, first trying to get away with only the secondary tensioners, then later replacing all chains, tensioners, guides, some of the times mentioned seem pretty high. I admit to spending a lot of time being DIY and doing the job for the first time, but I actually replaced the secondaries twice, thinking there may have been a faulty (new) one. The second time around was a breeze, so the experience paid off quickly.

You mentioned having 108,000 miles. If you have owned the car since new and know the tensioners are original... you should change them right now! You are on borrowed time for sure. If the car is relatively new to you, find out if they have been changed already.

I do not know what Butal's opinion on the transmission is, but I have an old friend who owns and operates a transmission shop (translation... I trust him). He advises against flushing transmissions, and says to simply change the oil and filter. Many lube shops try to up-sell the transmission and torque converter flush, but he told me not to do that. He changed the oil & filter in my XJR. He analyzed the oil & told me it was ugly, but was still OK and had no metal filings in it. He gave the XJR transmission (Mercedes I believe) a good grade and mentioned it was considerably better than the XJ8 version. He said flushing can move tiny bits of sediment into areas, where they cause trouble. That heavy sediment is probably best left where it is, rather than getting stirred up by a flush. Admittedly not all of the oil gets changed, but he still said mostly new was better than flushing. If it is left open to drain for a good amount of time, a lot of the old oil will drain out. (That will not happen at a Lube shop) I suppose that opinion may be up for debate, but I am going with his advice. I asked about having it changed again after about 5 or 10,000 miles to get a higher percentage of the old oil out, but he said not to worry about it.

Brutal, if you are still tuned into this thread, do you recommend changing the supercharger oil & perhaps the differential oil at these 100K + mileages?

 

I do recommend trans pan drops and oil and filter changes really every 50-60k. I still do not see issue with a flush, you useing the lube circuit to flush with either a low pressure external machine, or inline adapters. And youre already dropping and replacing the filter/ Yes I think the bigger issue is letting it go too long before a trans service. If your doing consistent trans maint. you should have no issues related to flushes. Its the waiting too long, then putting in clean fluid that has a like new viscosity. The trans seals may or may not seal when they were used to a used oil of thicker viscosity. Thats why If youve got alot of miles I wouldnt flush, but do a pan drop, that way youre not replacing all the fluid at once.
ON the diff fluid, yes 100k would be nice, keep in mind you have to drop the diff down to fill on Xk's

 

Thanks Brutal

I guess the flush makes sense if you start with relatively low miles, before the crud builds up.

On the differential, does it have to come down on an XJR? Still curious about the supercharger oil.

 

You can access the fill plug on the xj's, just not the xk. And imo, if youasking about oil in the sc change, you should do it....

 

Thanks again

I will look into doing both. I think I saw a thread where someone suggested drawing the old supercharger oil out with a large syringe and tube. Could not find anything in the JTIS manual. Maybe because they call it filled for life. The final drive unit appears to show a level plug... but no drain plug. Does it need to be pumped out too?

Can you suggest the correct type & weight of oil for each component?

Thanks

 

Hey there, Celiac dz by any chance? St Peter's I believe to be gluten free? Walt

 

above question was to Britrover.