took them off today to see what kind of tensioners i got well
one side has the plastic one and its cracked have to change it
other side is the newer metal ones which is really good
only have to change one side
but has me thinking is why didnt the previous owner change both side instead of just one he already had to tools to do it maybe he was a lazy one

 

@ 99

Is there any evidence on the one that wasn't replaced of bolts/screws/nuts being threaded or stripped ? maybe a PO started the job but it went wrong somehow and he just left it (and probably punted the car soon after?)

Anyway, i'm about to do the same job next week. I'm also replacing the cam cover gaskets as mine are leaking. Any tips on the procedure more than is in the factory manual ?

 

maybe at the time he changed out one side the other side was good so no need to change it but now its cracked and has to be changed

will change my valve cover gaskets also
i really dont know of a procedure to change them out

called the ford/lincoln dealership yesterday and its 106 dollars for a tensioner but somone else here on the forum said they got theirs for 56 bucks at a different dealership to have to look around

found a kit for 289
with 2 tensioners and valve cover gaskets and spark plug seals

 

They are $57 and $63 this year. Silver State Ford. Might find them for less with a little googling.

http://www.silverstatefordparts.com/...&siteid=214290

Tensioners, gaskets, bolts and shipping should be less than $200. Let us know.

The best pictorial I have seen can be found under 'Tensioners' at the XK8/R FAQ Sticky here:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=29800

 

awsome site
i think im gonna go ahead and change both out even tho one is already the newer style you think thats a good idea or just change out the old style and leave the other one alone

are the lincoln ls valve cover gaskets the same??

ok did some searching now when i went on that site and view the part illustration it showed the tensioner as being number 23 right???
went on a different website and it showed the same illistration and the same number 23
price was $35 for each tensioner will call in the morning to verify
one more thing where is the best place to get the tools as a loan like really cheap instead of the 300 and 400 bucks

 

I don't believe that I have ever heard of a metal body tensioner failing so change or not is up to you. Just to be sure, I might loosen and re tighten the exhaust cam to sprocket bolt with the cams locked down to ensure that the valve timing was done correctly. That connection is a Morris Taper, infinitely variable type, and 1-2 degrees off will make a difference.

Note that is a left and right to the tensioners and you need the shorter bolts. At $35 you might be looking at the chains rather than the tensioners themselves.

The Lincoln gaskets are the same. I did not replace my gaskets and have not had a leak. Since my labor is pretty cheap and this is a toy car I figured if it leaked I would do it again. A lot of my mechanical work turns out to be practice anyway.

The tools are available here:

http://tiny.cc/toolsource

Changing your tensioners is an easy and very satisfying project and saves $600 to a $1000 depending on how you want to calculate that. That's a new set of tires.

 

called a shop today that works on european cars and ordered a tensioner just got 1 since the other one is already a metal one and everyone says a metal one cant fail
paid 109 bucks which is not bad little bit more then the 56 dollar one but
the shop owner is letting me borrow the tools at free of charge as long as i bring them back in one piece

 

stupid question,is the car carnival red? and from california?

 

Confession time, TechforJag?

 

Hey, just want to confirm - does an 03 XJR have the metal tensioners for sure?
Thanks

 

yes, and an upgraded primary chain system.

 

it is a carnival red but i bought it from san antonio tx and had it shipped to ky
im pretty sure 2001 xjr and up had the new tensioners which were all metal so ur good

 

The metal tensioners were introduced into engine production in August '01, the beginning of the '02 MY production. Some '02's assembled prior to September included engines with the plastic tensioners. Mine did.

There should be a label on the driver 'B' column with the manufacturer date.

 

if its the car im thinking of and its from the desert in california one of the Guys replaced the one upper tensioner that was broken since they owner was thinking of selling the car,other then that the car was super clean,this was over 3 years ago,what are the odds that this is the same car???

 

mine has a xj8 front grill chrome part painted to match the car and grill left chrome
white interior
looks like it had a fender bender cus some of the paint around the jaguar sign on the hood is peeling
and it had drilled and crossed rotors??? is that ur buddys car

 

dont think so,just sounds like someone did the minimal repair to keep the car going and sold it,are you going to replace them all now?

 

i will replace the grill only i will put the original xjr grill on there

 

Evening all

FYI

I have just replaced the A Bank valve cover seals on an XJ8 engine (48,868 miles) manufactured 13 February 2002 and it has metal bodied tensioners and upgraded primary chain