I'm looking at a 2001 XK for sale. One of the reciepts in the glove box shows the drive belt was replaced in 2004 at a cost of $1,000.00 approx.

Does the drive belt replacement address the tensioner screws that seem to go wrong with these older model XK's????? Is the drive belt the same as a timing belt???

Please forgive my lack of knowledge regarding what's what....Thanks!!!!

 

These cars have timing chains (primary and secondary), not timing or drive belts. They do have a single serpentine belt running accessories, however it's not a $1K item.

The belt is pulled tight by a tensioner pulley that can have bearing problems--and sometimes needs replacement.

Now, if the car is a XKR model, they may be talking about the supercharger belt, which is a $100 item less labor.

If repairs done at a Jag dealership, he may have been prey to an overzealous Service Writer suggesting maintenance that wasn't really required unless something broke.

 

Okay, maybe it was a serpentine belt then...I'll try and clarify this with the current owner.
How much might it cost to update the timing chain and tensioner issues on a 2001 model????

 

A couple thousand... give or take a few hundred depending on who is actually doing it. Shop around for a best price. They'll all quote you from JTIS which would tell any shop how many hours to expect so they can give you a quote...

 

It depends on where you go and what the hourly rate is, but I hear about $1500 for a shop to do it seems normal.

I recommend doing it yourself if you have any mechanical experience, its pretty straightforward.

Changing the serpentine belt, by the way, would be maybe 1 hour labor tops + parts (my goodyear belts were I think around $50). Nowhere near $1000. It could be that the tensioners were done and the shop labeled the invoice incorrectly - if you take off your valve covers you can easily tell whether you have new tensioners installed or not.

 

When the belt was done there is a chance you were converted over to the double sided belt, in which case $1000 is plausible.

If your tensioners need doing I would go along with what has been suggested, if you are handy with the spanners, which I am guessing not (no disrespect), find a good independant, see if anyone can recommend you a place on the forum

 

Excellent gentlemen...I appreciate the input here.