I've had my 99 XK8 for 6 months and 3000 miles. The PO didn't know if the tensioners had been done and he'd only had it a couple years. I've been waiting for an excuse to open the cam covers and when it started making a new screechy belt-type noise on startup a couple days ago I decided it was time. To my pleasant surprise it looks like they've already been done. These are the third generation metal ones, right?

Is there anything else I can do in there while I'm at it? I've got 95,000 miles. I pulled a couple of the spark plugs. I'm guessing when they were in there doing the tensioners they would have replaced them. Mine have slight deposits but the electrodes are fine. I did have a couple of wet coil ends so I'll replace all the gaskets of course before I button it back up.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Randy

 

Plugs are not that expensive. I would replace them anyway.

 

I took this advice and replaced the plugs. The cold start noise lasted for the next couple days after putting everything back together and has now gone away. Based on some of the older posts here I'm thinking now it was the serpentine belt and that it will come and go until I replace it.

Too bad there isn't some way to detect that the tensioners are already upgraded without going inside the covers. Maybe a fiber optic camera inserted through the oil filler ?