First off, not sure where I should post this, but figured the XK8 or XJ8 would be a good place seeing as how most people on here have tackled the job.

I sourced together a set of tools for the timing chain tensioners when I did the job, and one of which was the chain tensioning tool from motor cars ltd. I gotta say that when I received it, I was not happy with the quality, but buying something sight unseen online, not much I can do. I used it the first time around and there were no issues. Second time around on my other car......well, just look at the picture below.

I called Motorcarsltd and asked them what it was made of so I can see if it is weldable or not. After being on hold twice (once for ten minutes, and once for 5 minutes), I hung up and called back 30 minutes later. Got right through, and the guy said he did not know. Then I was transferred to Julie who I left a message for 2 days ago explaining that my tool broken and I wanted to know whether they warrantied it and what type of metal it was....and guess what, no response.

So, what does $75 get you. A very porous cast iron tool sold by a company who does not stand behind their products. Just a fair warning for those who do not want to be stuck in the middle of a job....Get your moneys worth and buy a tool worth $75.

 

wow, I only buy from either

Jaguar Enthusiasts Club, Classic British Cars, Jaguar Owners Club, Jaguar Tool Hire, The largest Jaguar Club covering all models including E-type, S-type, X300, XJS, XJ, Mark 2, XK8 or
Home: SPX Europe tool catalog

Either site sell the genuine Jaguar approved tools. It's sad to see cheapo copies, and even more so to hear that the sellers don't want to know when things go wrong.

 

They normally twist a lot and require fixing with a big hammer, never had one break on me yet!!

 

Thanks for the link Sean B. I actually spent last night making a dfx file designing that tool on a cad to cam program. I'm taking it to a machine shop to have them make it for me out of steel. $50, no shipping, and a tool that will last.

 

I do have the entire tensioner tool set on a CAD dwg file, I did it on AutoCAD R14 if you want a copy I will send it over

 

Hey XKRacer. Thanks for offer, but I got it done already. I used Autodesk inventor and then transferred to "Cut it pro" to communicate with the cnc.

 

If you want to send it to me we could include it on the mediafire download site for those with autocad and maybe put pdf's in the faq if there are dimensions shown.

 

That looks like what we used to call "pot metal". It should be solid steel.

The whole set runs around $400+. Did they have that, too?