I started pulling down my XJ8 a few weeks ago. Was pretty sure I had tensioner issues, but wanted to get into it before I ordered parts. Ended up I got a full timing kit, waterpump, thermostat, timing chain cover, new plugs, new serpentine belt and new expansion tank hose. I'm waiting on the expansion tank hose now but wanted to post a few pics of the progress. L to R Diving in - In Progress - Wrapping up

 

Great job, BTW, how many miles are on your XJ?

 

130 k. Thanks for the complements, but most of the credit goes to all the forum members. I found the step by step (Blackonyx) directions searching on here, learned all about the faulty first gen. tensioners, waterpump etc. from forum posts. I did find an outside source for troubleshooting the ABS/TRAC unavailable issue, but have tried to provide as much insight as I could as I've worked my way through getting that fixed. I picked up the XJ8 in October, and she ran like a clock, wife took it on a road trip from TX to VA and back after the first of the year. I noticed the tell tale failing tensioner knock when she got back. I just wish I knew how many miles she drove once they really started to go. I plan on getting some good detail shots of the failures in the tensioners and posting them in a few days. Other than the tensioners, I was amazed how clean the motor was when I got her pulled down.

 

It looks like you used your own make shift cam locking tool. I have access to welding machines and machining tools and kinda hoped to make my own. If you did make it, please let me know how you did it. I would love to know.

 

I agree that the forum is invaluable in getting how-to's as well as diagnostics based upon real world experience. The 130K also confirms why you did the complete chain tensioner kit as well as water pump, et. al.

 

@JagScott Pic shows my home made tools I used for my tensioner job
a couple of weeks ago, nothing special needed if you have access to a machine shop, I posted some other pics in Chains,Tensioners and Tools

 

Kudos to you , I like such handy members a lot

 

Yes, a buddy of mine made the tools for me. I gave him specs. for one that I found online but we had to make adjustments to get it to work. Give me a bit and I'll get some specs on what we ended up with posted. We also made a tensioning tool that isn't in any of the pics, that worked great, and I'll get some pics and specs on that as well.

 

The pictures below are of a tool my buddy made up for me a bit ago. Worked like a charm. It has two tabs that fit the gaps in the interior well of the harmonic balancer (similar to the sprocket tensioning tool). Despite the name (for now) it's not designed to lock the crankshaft as much as it is to hold it in place to reinstall and torque the crank bolt. We made the handle long enough so that it would catch the underside of the frame on either side of the motor, once you get it inserted in the balance pulley and snug it up to the frame it's a one man job to torque the bolt.

 

Oh what a wonderful feeling. I got everything buttoned back up yesterday before lunch. Pulled the fuel pump relay to get the oil pressure back up, and she fired up immediately, no smoke, no coughing, just smooth and quiet. Had a bit of a time getting the coolant topped up but, she's been running like new today.

 

How can I tell if my Tensioner or timing chain/gear is bad? 2003 vdp

I hear a wining sound on acceleration that goes away.

tia

 

Don't know if the whine is related. To tell if your tensioners are bad, you need to take the valve covers off and inspect their condition.

 

Great story bluerdg !


Gives me some convidence to do the job myself , thanks for sharing.

 

Does the wining keep pace with acceleration and disappear at higher throttle, or go away completely? I had a wine that increased in pitch with acceleration on my BMW. The idler pulley and tensioner pulley on the drive belt were on their way out. I replaced both along with the serpentine belt and it was gone. From everything I've read and my experience followed suit, the passenger side secondary timing chain tensioner is usually the first to go. Not sure why as the configuration is balanced. The secondary chains are the ones that connect between the cam shafts to keep them in sync. The sprockets, chain and tensioner lie about an inch below the surface of the bell on the front of each valve cover. The Tensioner fits between the chain loop and is located almost dead center. When it goes, it tends to produce a distinct knocking sound (usually getting more pronounced as the car warms up). Use a stethoscope or the old screwdriver to the ear test and check for a knocking at these locations. Every component I had except the chains had significant failures and the only evidence I had was a pronounced knock under the passenger side valve cover.

 

Not to be the spelling police... but i I'm having trouble seeing this repeated... "whining" would be correct spelling as I have several young children that demonstrate this daily!

 

You mean the difference between whining, whinning and wining? Not to mention scrapers vs scrappers, and axles vs axels? And their, there, and they're. And using 's rather than s for plurals. Alas, spelling is not a subject taught much in school anymore, despite the popularity of the national spelling bee. I suppose it doesn't too much matter if the idea gets across.

But there are some interesting cases:
My wife recently saw someone on a blog use the word "prostheletize" which can only mean to go out amongst the heathens, and persuade them to wear wooden legs....

 

Actually, it does because it speaks to credibility and diligence.

Spelling, grammar and format are one of the easier ways to whittle down a pile of resumes to a managable number.

The same thing goes for long unbroken blobs of text without any paragraph breaks as seen in emails sent by users of smartphones. They get shuffled to the bottom of the pack. If they hurt the eyes too much, the response is to reformat and resend. It is not the responsibility of the recipient to decipher a mass of hieroglyphics.

If they do not include enough details to address the problem, they face a 24 hour turnaround for the next response.

 

That's funny!

 

What exactly does that knock sound like?

 

Here's a link YouTube - Jaguar V8 Potential Rod Knock It's not the one I originally found that was identical to what I was dealing with but definitely lets you know the sound. I'm not sure exactly what's going on at the beginning of the video, but towards the end when the engine seems to settle out you'll get the best example. Note: the original video I found, and my experience was that the knock wasn't noticeable on cold start up, but became audible after it started to warm up. If you've got a knock, use a screwdriver to your ear. Prominent knock from either of the bells on the front of the valve covers and I'd say you probably have a tensioner going (if 1 I'd bet all are getting ready to go or just as bad) There are 4 chains ( 2 on each side - 1 primary / crank to cam 1 secondary /cam to cam) the tensioner and/or components press against the chain about midway each case. If you loose tension the chain gets a little slack and can slap around behind the cover, that's the knock.