Hi Everyone,

Has anyone got any advice for holding the crank still whilst undoing/doing up the main crank pulley bolt.

Also, does anyone know the correct Torque setting for this bolt.

I'm doing the following work over the Easter weekend, so any advice would be greatly welcomed.

Timing Chains and Tensioners
Water Pump
Thermostat Housing
Front Upper wishbone bushes
Front Discs and Pads
Fan Belt
Oil and Coolant flush and change

Anything i should be looking out for? Anything else you'd recommend doing at the same time.

Thanks everyone.

Reg

In the absence of a diagram or photo, I'll take a wild guess that by 'this bolt' you mean the crankshaft damper securing bolt? If so, it's torqued to 364 - 386 Nm.

That's a lot of work even for a Bank Holiday weekend. Most of it is straightforward dismantling / reassembly but the upper wishbone bushes could take ten minutes, several hours or even days to remove.

Graham

oops sorry, i renamed the title, after writing the question.

Well its four full days, with three of us tackling it. I'll leave the front suspension work until last, and it'll be done if there is time.

I haven't got a wrench that torques up that high, if i did it 'as tight as humanly possible', say with a 3' bar, would it be safe for a few miles?

I was thinking of taking it to a garage to have them just torque up the bolt to the correct setting. Off the top of my head i can recall if this bolt is accessible once the engine is all back together

top of my head it is 80 Nm plus 90 degrees
so your torque wrench will work

Two helpers = greater speed but bigger beer bill. Worth it!

There's a good chance you'll find the pulley bolt is done up 'tighter than humanly possible' when you try to undo it. The only way I know to lock the crank whilst undoing the pulley bolt is to wedge a lever between one of the torque converter bosses and the housing through the access slot. This is risky so it's worth seeking advice from the techs on the forum before trying it.

Graham

Is it possible to do that "bump" (attach with a big breaker bar and let the force of the motor loosen bolt when you crank motor) on these cars to loosen the bolt. We did it a lot with the Supra's but not sure which direction the engine goes in these cars...?

Jonny

I use a piece of drive belt wrapped around the damper and a CHAIN WRENCH to hold it in place while I remove/install the 24mm hex head bolt.

I have a 24" chain wrench and a 24" Snap-On 1/2" drive Flex-Head ratchet with 24mm socket for just this job.

bob gauff

After mentioning locking the torque converter which I've done in the past, I thought I'd check what Jaguar recommend:

JTIS - 1998 XK8 Crankshaft Pully 12 21 09.pdf

Surprisingly this is exactly the procedure shown highlighted on the third page!

Graham

Looking like the major cost of this work is going to be tools! I've managed to borrow the cam locking tool so saved a few hundred quid there.

I'll have an ask around and see if i can borrow the crankshaft locking tool.

The water pump i've bought is part number AJ8008912.

It has a plastic impeller, and I'm sure i've seen it mentioned that metal ones are available.

Is this plastic one stronger than the original plastic one, or am i just replacing what i already have?

Thanks for all the responses. It makes life so much easier.

Reg

The metal impeller pumps are aftermarket- I would stick with the part you have. The plastic impellers that fail are black in color, the white ones are a different compound and hold up fine.

Which bolts will i need to renew? I think the crank pulley bolt is being done up so tight that i will want a new one in there. But any others recommended?

The bits arrived today, the water pump has black plastic impella blades (not happy)

Amazing array of colours. I changed water pumps on my last 2000 XJ8L and 2001 XK8. Both were fitted with orange impellers. Each change was precautionary at the same time as renewing thermostats rather than strictly necessary.

Graham

So can i assume that the new black impeller is still an improvement on the brittle old black one?

Also, my Alloy thermostat housing hasn't got a lid, the supplier is sending it on. Worst case, will i be able to use the plastic lid for the time being?

The new style primary chain tensioners are metal, inside grey plastic outers. Is this the correct part, ie is this the new style?

Thanks everyone.

If your supplier still has the fifteen year old pumps with the problem impellars, his wife and children must be starving.

There's some thermostat housings with faulty castings on the market in the UK. I had to return one to British Parts UK last year where the lid wouldn't screw down properly. Although you could use the original plastic lid temporarily, it might be safer to wait for the aluminium one to arrive to ensure the housing and lid are a good fit.

(British Parts replaced mine without question and refunded my P&P costs)

Graham

As I'm sure you can tell from this thread, i worry about the most ridiculous things!

Thanks for all the help on this everyone, i really appreciate it.

I don't know if its just me, but, just holding one of these massive brake discs. They're like works of art. I could quite easily look at them all day long.

Really starting to love this car!!

Take care, this can go too far!!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...1000-cars.html

eeeewwwwwww!!

Are you still holding the brake disc?