For those putting off doing the secondary tensioners, please don't wait any longer. Go out to the garage and do it now. I've had my XK8 for a year now and heard all the warning, gentle nudges, and a few scary pictures. But my Jag only has 50,000 miles and is stone quiet, so I put it off and put it off. So many other things to fix first. Well today I put on my big boy pants and started the job. It all went fine, and from the first picture all looked fine when I got the cam cover off, no missing pieces and the cam chain as tight as an F string. I was thinking at the time "am I wasting my saturday?" Then I took the adjuster out and it fell apart in my hands. I couldn't tell until I took it out that it was split on both sides. My heart sank, and I wondered did I have 1 start left or 10 before the engine was destined for the land fill. Thanks to all those who pushed until I changed them out. And for the excellent instructions available on this site. You were all right! Tomorrow I do the other side!

 

ouch - glad you got to it before disaster struck!!!

 

If you'd delayed the Tensioner Replacement this might have been the next thing you'd have seen:

 

Jeff
You are one lucky man. Glad you got it before it got you.

 

my local dealer checked my vin and said my 2002 xkr coupe had updated tensioners and chains, but I wonder where I can check to make sure. Vin last 6 = a27449.

Anyone had a case where database was wrong?

To check it require also removing s/c coolers so if that is done what other maintenace makes sense to do?
S/c fluids change?

 

Not necessary to remove S/C Coolers, just Cam Covers.

 

thanks, prev owner relaced the cam covers for reasons I never learned.

So Paul, you think I should have mechanic confirm my setup by taking the cam covers off and having a look?

 

Jaguar V8 Secondary Tensioners - Preventive Replacement

From the above:

"Engines subject to this problem include XJ8/XJR engines with the last six digits of their VIN numbers between 812256-F41862, and XK8/XKR engines with the last six digits of their VIN numbers between 001001-A24195."
If this is true, then your VIN ..........A27449 already has the new tensioners.

 

Fulton, first go out and buy a lottery ticket before your luck changes. You didn't dodge a bullet, you dodged an A-bomb.

If your engine was made after August 2001, then you have the 3rd generation tensioners. The engine in my 2002 XKR was made in February so I figured I was safe. However, as they used to say in the cold war, trust but verify. The very first thing I did, within a month of buying it was to verify the tensioners. They were 3rd generation but now I have piece of mind.

Mark

 

Fantastic! I love to hear a happy ending.

I'm happy you have saved your motor before it packed up and left you stranded.

Just curious, what method are you using to replace the tensioners? The trusty zip tie?

 

My '02 XK8 had the plastic tensioners which were cracked at 40k miles. The manufacture date on the driver 'B' column said it was manufactured in June of '01. Any dealer can convert the VIN to an engine serial number which encodes the manufacture date of that engine which is the real important information.

Conversion to metal occurred on August 13, 2001 hence an engine serial number of 010813hhmm. Anything after that is metal.

There is no direct correlation between the VIN and the engine serial number.

 

Actually, you should have clicked your heels because whichever way you slice it, you dodged a bullet.

Next on the agenda is to buy a lottery ticket

BTW, for all you readers ...

it is never mentioned, but the reason that the dipstick can be hard to pull up is that
there is a bracket at the bottom end that attaches to the power steering pump bracket.

it is another one of those plastic fir tree affairs.

found it in the TSB dealing with power steering pump misalignment causing belt squeal
posted by MotorcarMan.

 

Ahh, no wonder I was having difficulty with mine, its tied! It looks very tight for space down there and I could not see the tie. Does that mean it has to be " popped " out of a support bracket like the ones holding cables at the top of the cam cover at the front and back? Or do you have to cut the tie to free it. I am doing mine today ( or attempting to ) so would appreciate the heads up, would save me cutting the securing ring on the dipstick.
Thanks again for all the great tips, I think there are at least 3 of us forum members doing this job at the same time, hope we all succeed and can save our motors from the curse of the red tensioner.

 

[QUOTE=Paul Pavlik;937641]If you'd delayed the Tensioner Replacement this might have been the next thing you'd have seen:

Thanks Paul, that's the scary picture I was talking about!

I'm at a stand still, looks like I ordered the wrong tensioner bolts. I believe they are supposed to be shorter not longer. I think I have the correct Ford part number (W500301S300) We don't have a Jaguar dealer here, but at least we have 2 Ford dealers. The old bolt is the one in the calipers

 

[QUOTE=Fulton;938232]
*W500301*S300 is the correct Ford Part # for the Shorter Bolt.

I believe that JFB-10607E is the Jaguar Part #

 

Thanks for all your support guys, looks like I will be finishing last having ordered the wrong bolts. I am using the zip tie method and it's pretty easy. And I stopped on the way home this evening and bought a lottery ticket, just in case my luck holds

 

I was working on the L.B today and had a bit of a task getting the cam out, but it came with a bit of manipulation. I am using the original cam bolts cut to a length of 35mm as has been suggested by a few members, but I will have to wait for my new 3/8th drive torque wrench to arrive before completion. I used a different method for solving the dipstick problem which I will update in the thread I started concerning my cars refurb.
Cheers
Arty.

 

Good thread...

Low mileage is a fools ignorance for putting off the tensioner replacement... I did mine at 43k and had the same heart stopping bullet dodge experience as the other posters...

For guys still needing to do the job... Probably has been mentioned in procedures, but I didn't see it specifically... Leave the dang dipstick in if you are going to lift the dipstick tube out and over the cam cover stud... This will save you the major aggravation of feeding the tube back in the hole...

 

[QUOTE=Fulton;938232]Paul gave you the correct part number.

Bolts are measured from the contact surface at the bottom of the head to the tip of the threaded part.

The shorter one is listed as M6x35mm, whereas the longer one for the old style tensioner is listed as M6x40mm.

Some people grind 5mm from the threaded end and call it good.

One way to check is to insert a drill bit into the hole and measure the distance from the bottom of the hole to the contact surface on the tensioner to ensure that the fastener is not too long. Always allow some wiggle room if you try this.

If you have a Brofasco or Fastenal outlet in the neighbourhood they should be able to match
it up for you.

I actually should have done this because the Christoper's Parts "kits" are supplied with non-shouldered bolts. They are not as good as the Jaguar parts since the shoulder is meant to both center the fastener and protect the softer aluminum from contacting sharp threads. In addition, even when he ships the wrong part (two rights), he thinks the customer should pay return shipping.

 

I just ordered the bolts, I'm not comfortable cutting off the originals as it didn't leave much thread and the correct ones are only $1.00. I would rather wait a week then chance having them come out. Besides we have a Blizzard forecast for tomorrow 70-80cm snow (2-3 feet) and 100K winds. Don't think the Jag is going to see sunshine for a while.