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Just searched Autotrader for XK8's in the US, 250 for sale and not one mention of the Secondary Chain Tensioners being replaced. Is this a REAL problem?
Just search chain tensioners on XK8 and XJ8 and you will find many instances where failure has occurred. It may not be a large percentage but the damage can be severe enough to warrant the change.
Just searched Autotrader for XK8's in the US, 250 for sale and not one mention of the Secondary Chain Tensioners being replaced. Is this a REAL problem?
I purchased my Jag at a dealer a few years ago. I asked about the cam chain adjusters at that time. The salesman brought out the head mechanic at this dealership and he told me he had never heard of a cam chain adjuster failure.
A few months later after reading over and over again on this site that the cam chain adjusters fail I decided to swap them out. Better safe then sorry I thought.
I took the cam covers off and upon visual inspection the old adjusters looked fine. But I thought what the heck I'm this far in and I have all the parts might as well swap them out.
The passenger side went fine and the old adjuster looked like new.
However, when I unbolted the driver side adjuster it fell apart in my hand. It was split top to bottom.
Just searched Autotrader for XK8's in the US, 250 for sale and not one mention of the Secondary Chain Tensioners being replaced. Is this a REAL problem?
Yes it is very real. Nearly everyone who inspects their secondary tensioners of cars this age find them in some state of partially self destructing. Often there is no warning when it completely fails, and in most cases it trashes the engine.
In most cases, the original tensioners lasted well beyond the warranty of the cars when they were new, so Jaguar never acknowledged a problem, except for the fact that that upgraded the design twice to improve the ruggedness of these parts.
I think a repair that has yet to rear it's ugly head will be valley hose repairs. So far it appears to me we see few folks come here stating they had a failure and are looking for help.
These hoses can last some time and be real easy for prev owners of these cars to look past them if they even know they are there. Sooner or later they go and the cost to replace them will **** off a lot of owners. I know when I did my valley hose repair, the one that goes to the pass side octopus hose, there is a small hose right near that connection that goes to the back of the TB if I recall correctly. Mine was bulging badly when I got in there. Glad I did. It would have been a B*tch to get too if it had went.
I would think there are many folks out there that have no clue about it being wide spread and just took it to a dealer or shop to have fixed and kept driving it not knowing more then there own "event". Through the years on my local craigslist I have asked folks if they had the repair done. Most had no clue, a few had the failure and had it fixed.
I had my 2001 XKR for 6 years when a someone mentioned the tensioner issue. I had not heard about it. I decided to have it done. 2 were cracked - small cracks just starting.
Just searched Autotrader for XK8's in the US, 250 for sale and not one mention of the Secondary Chain Tensioners being replaced. Is this a REAL problem?
Narrow your search from 2002 and earlier, I believe 03+ are all metal.
so maybe 1/2 of those, 125 !
Mine had small cracks and looked like they were on their last leg. To me it's like the top hoses. Why take a chance? Now, when I get on it I don't wince waiting for something to come thru the hood or when I put the top down I don't have to wonder "Is this the time I'm going to get the green shower"....
Most of the wrenching can be done with a 1/4" drive socket set equipped with some extensions and a universal joint. Maybe a 3/8" drive set for the cam cap bolts. Oh, and a couple zip ties.
There are a lot of information and a number of pictorials on how to do it in great detail.
Just got my baby back from the Indie, new secondary tensioners installed, purrs like a kitten, old tensioners (86K) miles were not too bad but did show some signs of wear. Don't have to worry about that anymore. Now, maybe the lower tensioners should be changed, should I ?
From: Somewhere south of Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
The dealership I purchased my 98 from also told me that they were not aware of any failures directly attributed to the tensioners/guides. They couldn't tell me if they had been replaced and were not willing to open up the top to check. I already knew that these parts were an issue with the older XK8's and planned on getting them replaced and negotiated the cost in to the sale price.
Interesting side note to this, I also have my Land Rover serviced at this dealership. One of the Rover service writers and I were talking one day about my issues with the Jaguar side and he steered me to an independent garage in our area. Told me outright that the Jag mechanics there were not that good with the older cars and if it was him, he'd take his Jag to the independent. I kind of wonder if the newer mechanics are not familiar with the older cars and their issues.
On my first trip to the independent, the first question they asked was if I had the gen 3 parts in my car.
This is what my tensioners/guides looked like:
Last edited by Scottsgreenjag; Nov 13, 2015 at 09:09 AM.
I would bet that most Jaguar dealerships who experience regular turnover with their techs are having more difficulties servicing the older cars than they did a few years past. All the more reason to DIY and find a trustworthy indie shop for the jobs that you either can't or won't attempt....
I remember a post a few weeks ago where the forum member was told by his local dealership that they no longer service any cars more than ten years old....
250 XK8's for sale in the US and not one mention
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