I just pulled the valve covers off of my 2000 XK8, and it appears it has updated tensioners, but with orange plastic, not the neutral color. I assume this is an earlier version of the all metal tensioner, but I can't seem to find info on whether or not I am OK with these or should they be replaced with the latest and greatest? I have not figured out how to insert photos in a post, but I just added a photo of the tensioner to the Gallery which is where they seem to end up.

 

Here us the URL of your photo
http://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jagu...82baee2ef8.jpg

Those are definitely upgraded. The white plastic turns orange from oil exposure, this is normal.

Instead of using the proper shorter bolts, however, they were installed with washers to take up the extra bolt length. I guess this is OK, as long as they are firmly in contact with the head...you should make sure there is no play in their mounting this way. If I recall, the bolts should be 4mm shorter, and the washers do not appear to be 4mm thick at a guess.

It is also possible that the bolt length is correct but the correct cap head bolts were not available and that is why separate washers were used.

 

Thanks, I went ahead and replaced the bolts with the proper ones. Seems odd that someone sharp enough to replace the tensioners would just use whatever bolts they had "laying around" (although the length was correct) and then with washers that were not exactly the right fit either. Local Ford dealer had the bolts in stock for $1.17 each list price.