This morning I completed disassembly. The left primary chain would not slip over the VVT unit sprocket, so I took care of that as the VVT unit was coming off. See below.

The left primary chain would not slip over the VVT unit so I left that until the VVT was being removed.

Another view of the left primary chain not sliding over the VVT unit.

Left secondary chain and VVT unit removed. Tensioner still installed.

Right bank, secondary chain and VVT unit removed. The vertical black bar is the camshaft locking tool.

Front ends of the right bank cams, exhaust on left, intake on right.

 

Cracked guide from the left bank.

Cracked guide from the right bank.

All that work for this.

Inventory time.
Two guides were cracked and that's all so I don't have any problems to remedy.
I laid all the parts out for organization, to inventory the new parts, and reference during reassembly.

 

All was going so well.
I installed the secondary and primary timing chains, guides, and tensioners and it was turning out well. Then Murphy showed up. The tool (from the kit) that inserts into the VVT oil control unit was too large (diameter) and would not fit into the recess in the VVT unit. It was close, but it was too big. I'm not a machinist by any means, so I used what I had to shave a little material off. It worked. The tool slid into the VVT unit, but the pins on the tool that are supposed to engage holes in the VVT did not.
Otherwise, the installation of the chains, tensioners, and guides went very well. While everything was removed, I did a little cleaning.

Use Scotchbrite and alcohol to clean the timing cover mating surface. The top part is cleaned, the bottom section had not yet been cleaned.

New primary chain on the right bank.

New primary chains, tensioners, and guides.

New secondary chain and tensioner on the right bank.

New primary chain on the left bank. You can see the nut at the top on a stud. This mounts the guide, and the nut mounts the VVT bracket.

This is where Murphy arrived and the VVT control unit tool would not fit.

 

Things to watch for when you change the timing chains:
1-Make sure the VVT oil control unit tool fits into the hole and the pins on the tool engage the holes in the VVT oil control unit.
2-Make sure you install the tension side primary chain guides before installing the primary chains, or you'll have to remove the tensioner to slacken the chain to get the guide on. Guess how I know. I couldn't find this step in the directions.
3-When you place the tool on the exhaust cam sprocket prior to installation of the primary chain, a "convenient" position for the tool is one that allows you to put tension on the tool in a counterclockwise direction as you torque the exhaust cam bolt. The square cutout in the exhaust cam sprocket tool is for a half inch drive breaker bar. You'll need it. Try to keep the square hole in the tool away from the secondary chain tensioner to allow better engagement of the breaker bar.
4-The intake and exhaust cams are not keyed for the sprockets. Torque is very important on those bolts.
5-When installing the primary chains, I slipped the crankshaft sprocket off, engaged the chain, then reinstalled the sprocket. It was easier to get the tension side tighter this way.
Note: The crankshaft sprockets are keyed.
I almost got the timing chain installation complete. I'm very happy with my progress so far. Everything is going together well.
I just need to get my hands on a tool that fits the VVT oil control unit and I'll be moving forward again.
Also, I did see some cracking in the old tensioners but they weren't coming apart yet.

 

 

agree with David - excellent write up and pics. Thanks for taking the time to document the job

 

No problem, guys. My pleasure.
I get a lot out of this forum so I figured this was a good way to give back.
I'll be posting more once I get a tool for the VVT unit and resume progress.

 

What's wrong with this picture?


Since I'm waiting for a new VVT unit tool, I did some cleaning and inspecting. I found something that I needed to fix.
If you look at the primary chain where it meets the upper guide you can see a gap between the two. The chain is not laying flat on the guide because it is sitting on the rear shoulder of the guide and hanging halfway off the guide on the back side. It's even worse toward the crankshaft gear. You can't see that part, but with my hand I could feel it. What happened is that I installed the guide and tensioner after the chain was on but didn't check the alignment of the chain and guide. I don't know if the chain would have found its way to lay properly on the guide, or if it bad things would have happened. I'm glad I took the time to look.
This was easy to fix. I just removed the primary tensioner, repositioned the guide, and reinstalled the tensioner. It took 15 minutes.
FYI, the stud with the nut on it above the gap mentioned is one of the mounts for the VVT unit bracket.
So, when you think you are done installing the chains, guides, and tensioners, take a break and come back and look at everything. Take a little time to admire your work. It sounds silly, but taking a break is important here. Even wait until the next day. Clear your mind and eyes.
Make sure everything is perfect before you close it up. Do not rush this part. A half hour spent here is well worth it. Things are easy to remedy now. When you are installing the timing cover, you don't want any second thoughts about anything underneath. Everything has to be perfect.
I'm not crazy, I just spent a career in aircraft maintenance.

 

 

Thanks.
Nothing spectacular going on here.
I bought the car in 2005 with 18,000 miles on it. I'm at 103,000 miles now.
Regular oil changes in the 3,000 to 5,000 mile range. Filters are usually Fram. Oil is usually Quaker State.
Those brands can vary based on prices at Walmart or Rock Auto but I always buy a major brand. No generic stuff.
I document everything done on the car, and I do almost everything myself, so I am religious about timely oil changes.
No Jiffy Lube for me.

 

While I'm waiting for the tool kit to tighten the VVT units to the intake cams, I did some more cleaning and I took a few pictures to show the tools used for the secondary timing chain installation (the intake VVT unit and exhaust cam gears).

The tool on the left is for the VVT. The tool on the right is for the exhaust cam gear. The missing tools are locking the camshafts and crankshaft.

This is on the left (passenger side) bank. I have a 1/2" drive breaker bar attached to the tool and the tool is engaged in the exhaust cam gear. The exhaust cam gear has four holes in it. The tool engages any two adjacent holes. When the instructions tell you to position the exhaust cam gear in a "convenient position" to install the tool, you want to be able to install the tool and give it counterclockwise force when tightening the VVT unit. Allow room for that and try to keep the 1/2'" breaker bar hole away from the secondary tensioner for better engagement. The hex key socket would engage the bolt inside the VVT unit. I left the torque wrench off for clarity.

This shows the VVT tool, but mine doesn't quite fit. The same hex key socket fits the bolt here. Torque wrench not shown.

 

Great job documenting your work. While I did mine, I decided to clean and paint the timing cover. Figured it would make it easier to see any future oil leaks.

 

Good idea on painting the timing cover. I'm going to have some time to do that because I received another timing tool kit from a different source than the first. It looks exactly the same (probably is from the same manufacturer) and I have the same problem. The tool will not slide into the VVT oil control unit. This is ridiculous.
I'm sure that the VVT oil control units in my engine are just like everyone else's, and the tools I'm buying are what everyone else is using.
Am I missing something?
I'm going to see if I can modify the tool to make it fit, but has anyone else had this problem?

 

JCNA has a tool loan program - may be better than trying to buy another tool that may not work

 

A couple of members have reported similarly - see Dale Dunn's thread:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xk8-xkr-x100-17/vvt-cam-timing-help-needed-175702/#post1618848
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...2/#post1619954

Grinding the outside of the tool seems to be one solution. Would be better if it fitted from the get-go, though

 

I used a file to take some material off the outside of the tool. It worked after I did that.

 

you all got me excited about this, where can I get this info?

 

Thanks, guys.
I'm glad I'm not going crazy.
So after waiting two weeks for another tool kit to be delivered only to discover the exact same problem, I now need to modify the tool. And return the second kit.
That begs the question, why don't the people who produce these tools make them so they actually fit?
Many years ago one of my young daughters apparently saw me fixing lots of stuff around the house and said, "Daddy, why doesn't anything work the way it's supposed to?"
I told her that many things need "Daddy grease".

 

Well, I got the first VVT tool to fit but it was one step forward, two steps back.

I kept removing material from the outside of the barrel of the tool until it slid in.
The torque on the VVT bolt that threads into the intake cam is a two step process. First torque to 30 foot pounds, then an additional 90 degrees. Strange, huh? I may have learned why.
The first torque to 30 foot pounds went fine. When I did the second torque of an additional 90 degrees, the tool failed, leaving two little pins from the tool stuck in my left bank VVT.
Removing the broken pins from the tool that were stuck in the VVT was easy. Last night when the tool broke, I figured I would have to remove the VVT so I removed the bolts from the VVT and the exhaust cam sprocket. I also removed the primary timing chain tensioner and guide for slack in the primary chain that I would need to remove the VVT unit. I was getting tired and frustrated so I gave up and quit for the day. In hindsight I'm glad I did because I was going backwards.
I've mentioned solving problems by walking away and this was one of those times. A good night's sleep made me realize that with the VVT bolt removed, I had good access to the broken pins in the VVT. Today I was able to get the pins out of the VVT with a magnet and a tap from a rubber mallet on the backside of the VVT to dislodge them. That was easy.
When I removed the primary tensioner, it extended because I had already pulled the red plastic pin out of it. Luckily, I found that I could retract the tensioner by rotating the lever that held the red plastic pin. I moved it in a clockwise direction and I was able to retract the tensioner plunger. I reinstalled the pin.

Now I'm working on beating the second VVT tool into submission with the help of a file and my bench grinder. I removed material from the barrel and it slides into the VVT, but the pins on the tool don't engage the holes in the VVT. I'll work on it more another day.
This is by far the most frustrating part of this whole project, especially considering that it is the last step to complete installation of the timing chains.
I need to remove enough material to install the tool, but I don't want to damage or remove material from the two pins that have already failed on me.
This part ain't fun.

If you've done this job, please comment on my thoughts below.

The pins on the VVT tool are much smaller in diameter than the pins on the tool that engages the exhaust cam sprocket.
That tells me that they aren't designed to withstand the same loads, which may explain why the VVT bolt torque is a two step procedure.
I'm thinking of using the VVT tool for the initial 30 foot pound torque, then do the final additional 90 degrees with the tool removed.

How does that sound?

 

Engineers have told me torque+angle specs are about getting more accurate and repeatable levels of tension than torque specs alone.

As a bolt tightens and yields, the range of uncertainty broadens from things like undercalibration and differences in friction, so the torque spec basically snugs the bolt well while the angle sets it finally.

I know that doesn't help your question, but maybe it's useful anyway