Hi,

I have just got myself my first Jaguar ever: An X308 (Sport) 3.2 V8 from 2002.

I have to say, I absolutely love it. I got a good deal and she had this ticking noise when I bought her. Has been serviced regularly but there was a period where she was off the road for a fair few months.

My questions are:

What is this ticking noise? -

Is it the infamous Tensioners? Lifters?

Will it harm the car to drive with this issue?

Listen here:
I't's something I'll definitely try and fix, my only worry is will I damage anything by driving her?

Any thoughts appreciated

 

Nothing more difficult than judging noises from Youtube.
They distort and filter when you record them, so no guarantee on a right diagnoses here.

Having said that, I think I know what you mean in the very last part of the video.
My first thought should be the serpentine belt and its rollers (bad bearing), but that is just a guess.

I can advice you to try to locate the location of the noise more precisely.
There are car stethoscopes available to help you with that, but I always use a long screwdriver in my ear ...

It is also not a bad idea to run fuel cleaner and fresh fuel.
Not sure the car has been standing for a while, but if so, the injectors might be dragging a bit.

Finally, you got a 2002 car, and I think those had the 3rd generation tensioners.
You can check it according the car VIN, do a search here on the furum and the change over numbers will pop up.
If you still got the older, 2nd generation tensions, then yes, change them out sooner than later!

 

Thanks for the reply and advice. I will look up to see if I have the 3rd generation tensioners as that was my only worry, really. Other than the ticking the car is a pleasure to drive...

 

Hi and welcome to the world of Jaguars,

+1 on what ericjansen said - nothing more difficult than judging a noise via video.
Given that the engine was idling (usually between 600-700 rpm), the noise occurs with a rate of just above 300 bpm.
Being a four-stroke engine, the camshafts are rotating at half the speed of the crankshaft. So the noise could caused by a valve with its adjustment out of its tolerance range.
The AJ-V8 engines use bucket tapets for valve actuation. Since they aren't hydraulic tappets, the valves are adjusted by a small shim above the tappet. Having a too big distance between the camshaft lobe and the shim/tappet can result in such a ticking noise.
But we need some more info about your car and the noise.
What mileage does your car have done? Please provide some more info about the service history of your car (if available).
How does the ticking change, when you put the car in Reverse or Drive? How does it change, when you (gently) rev the engine (in Park or Neutral)? Does the noise disappear when the engine is warmed up or when you drive?
PS: From my point of view, the ticking noise is too regular for indicating a secondary tensioner problem. VVT problems, which are quite often the source of a ticking/knocking noise, are out, since the 3.2 l engines don't have VVT.

 

First I would start as eric suggested with the serpentine belt. Remove it and if the noise goes away it is something running on the belt.
If that doesn't solve the problem do a compression test. I think it is in the valve train but it's hard to tell on video. It kind of sounds like a dropped valve seat. If these cars overheat there is a good chance of the vavle seat coming loose from the head.

My suggestion belt first then compression test.

 

Thanks for this. I'll have a more thorough look this evening, cycling through gear box and rpm's.

For what it's worth, when I started her this morning (around 4 degrees Celsius), there was no ticking (or at least very slight); the ticking only started as she heated up.

Thanks again.

 

Thanks for that, I'll give that a go.