Ladies and gentlemen,

I am on the hunt for a 2010+ XKR, and have found one. Unfortunately, I live in South Ogden, UT and the car is in Columbus, OH. I had the very nice dealer take a video of the engine upon cold start, and I've uploaded it to YouTube. While I am familiar with the cam chain tensioner issues on the 5.0L engines, I've never even seen an X150 in person, much less hear what a healthy engine sounds like, so I'm not entirely sure if what I'm hearing is the tensioner or just normal sounds.

If you know what you're listening for, would you mind watching the video and letting me know what you think?

https://youtu.be/RmEhhwN5Hhg

Thank you very much, and I look forward to being a part of this community.

 

Mandrake,
I have experienced the chain slack. That is not what it sounds like. The sound typically goes away as soon as oil pressure builds up, few seconds.

There is a simpler way to be sure that what you heard was not an engine that was previously started. Ask for the oil change records and make sure the correct oil was used.

BTW of some bizarre coincidence, there is another chap here who has had chain tensioner issue, he is some Columbus Ohio and named Lothar. Mandrake and Lothar were characters from Phantom comics. Hope this is not a joke.

Reach out to him, he may even inspect the car for you and he knows what a good engine should sound like.

 

Thank you for the quick reply, and it sounds like good news!

No, the Mandrake/Lothar connection is entirely coincidental. Beyond enjoying the Marvel movies, I have zero knowledge of comics.

Thank you for the lead, too. I'll send him a PM and see if he's willing.

 

Hey! I live in West Point Utah, probably about ten miles from where you are.
If you'd like to see a 2010 in person, let me know and I'll oblige.

Sure wish that video was about fifteen seconds longer, after the engine idled down. It'd be more telling.


I'm sort of mixed about your possible purchase, as I've not seen another X150 bodied XKR in this state. I may have the only one...... for now any way.

 

Hi Cee Jay, that would be awesome! Please shoot me a pm on here with a way to get a hold of you and we can go from there. With the exception of Sarurday, I'm free tomorrow, Sunday and Monday.

 

Mandrake,
As the owner of both an X150 2010 5L XKR and an X100 2002 4L XKR, outside of a single mention of a tensioner problem on a particular X150, there is not a "cam chain tensioner issue" with 5.0L engines. On the 4.0L X100s, this was a huge problem as the original tensioners were plastic and deteriorated, often resulting in breaking and destroying the engine. That was a known issue. But check with Cee Jay or Lothar and they should be able to give you plenty of insight into the particular vehicle.

 

Tberg,

In the reading I've done over the past ten months, the two things that kept popping up as common problems were the water pump and the cam chain tensioners, and that's what I was referring to. While reading, I was keeping in mind that on forums, you only ever hear about the bad- nobody ever starts a thread to say they didn't have any problems with their car that day. Factoring in too that this is a modern Jag and not some Soviet- era Lada, I'm not overly concerned, but before I jump into an unknown car, I wanted to cover my bases. I appreciate your insight, and feel comfortable with this car based on the responses so far.

Fwiw, Carfax reports the water pump and front main seal was changed 15k miles ago by a dealer, so that's a bonus as well.

 

The water pump is a definite issue, not really related to the engine per se, but the tensioners haven't been responsible for destroying engines the way they routinely did to many X100 (almost including mine). These engines are very reliable so long as oil and coolant levels are kept up. Most problems come from weak batteries not the engine. Good luck with your purchase.

 

If I had to venture one guess (and guess it is since I've never seen a Jag 5.0) I think you are hearing a weird sound harmonic that the camera is picking up. Note that the 'rattle' sounds hollow like it's heard through a pipe as he moves around. For a source of the sound, it almost sounds like a power steering pump whine or injectors firing. Also as noted above, it seems to go away as the engine finishes it's start warm up cycle and idles down. Really hard to say what's going on, especially since it's shot inside as well.

 

I thought this as well, with a smooth hard surface below the engine and what I assume is inside a building with hard walls and ceiling sounds can bounce all over and make weird noises appear from nowhere.

 

Mandrake, I live in Columbus Ohio and although my Jag is a 2009, I'd love to meet you and do anything I can to assist. I'm also good friends with Lothar52 who would also be happy to help you as well! If you PM me, I'll give you my (as his) address, phone number, etc. I look forward to seeing you and talking about your (hopefully) new Jag! Snide

 

PM sent!

 

I'd like to publically thank both Cee Jay and Snide72 for the time that they have spent introducing me to Jaguars and helping me move closer to my purchase.

Snide72, your time is invaluable, and it means a lot to me that you're taking the time you are to look at the car for me.

Cee Jay, I'm still processing the experience of being a passenger in your car. The impact it's had on me reminds me of the first time I flew an airplane as a teenager. Thank you again.

I hope one day to return to the Jaguar community what these two gentlemen have given to me in my extremely brief time on this board.

 

Glad to have been of assistance.

 

This is what this forum is and should be all about; helping out other forum members and making it a community of real people not just nicknames and avatars. Great job guys!

 

I'm happy to help, Mandrake! Like tberg said ... it's what this Forum is all about. I'm going back to more closely inspect all rotors and measure the tread depth on all tires. The interior looks great except the one small blemish on the center vent. I also want to inspect the whole car more closely in the sunlight as fluorescent light on the showroom didn't show much detail. Then I'll test drive it and give you my thoughts. They did say they haven't professionally polished and waxed it yet so make sure that's part of your offer! When you come here to pick it up, I'll throw some steaks on the grill, break out the brewski and we can spend a few hours Jag talking!

 

tberg beat me to it - this absolutely IS what this forum is about. It was a pleasure reading this thread.

Mandrake, you're going to love the XKR!

 

Just to close this thread, I thought I'd pass along that I received a PM from Mandrake informing me that he has decided to pass on buying this Jag. He said his decision was based purely on a 'gut' feeling which I totally understand and respect. I sure hope we hear from him in the not too distant future telling us about another Jag XKR that he found and bought. Till then ... Cheers!

 

Looks like I'll still have the only visible XKR in Utah for at least a while.

 

Mandrake, perhaps I can share some experience that may help your hunt for the next car.

The XKR is more than the bargain of the century for reasons you may not realize. I could tell by the core of your question you were going about it the wrong way.

The most important thing to realize is that the XKR has a very specific demographic (to its determent) compared to cars like the Maserati, Porsche Panamera, Merc Sl, Audi RS8, BMW6, Bentley and so on. Those cars are equally bought by young guys, women and koks. An Ashton may be slightly spared. But in general they are driven hard, ill-kept and almost never fully optioned. The XKR was sold no other way.

There is still a built in filter in the XKR, only a person with a certain eye and care springs for one. Its really catered towards the mature taste. At $105k there are many other things that look attractive to those who have barely escaped adolescence. Such as the cars above. Then its hardly ever driven, because he is in love (she gets an XK) and is most likely his 3rd car, also he isnt thinking about how many girls he can fit in the back seat while cruising. Most are garaged.

I know of no other 500hp+ car that is more reliably built with better quality. The RS8 for instance is plagued with carbon troubles and the California had a total recall on the engines seizing up. Compound that with the fact they are dogged on the track. Go to youtube you will see them post a video.

The issue of timing chain wear is non-existent and a car that has been Jaguar serviced should have absolutely no possibility. Finding such car should be easier than not. Regardless, the issue is only a $3500 affair and one can easily negotiate that amount off a price. In other words, $3k insures against any eventuality, I cant say that about the other cars I have mentioned, not even the Aston.