2006 XK8 with 119,250 miles....

Today I replaced the VVT O-ring seals (part no. AJ82856) for the third time since we purchased this car in early February 2012. I have sourced them from Jaguar, from MotorcarsLTD, and from rockauto.com. No matter where they came from, they tend to last only about 2.5 years before they bake enough in the engine bay to get brittle enough to start seeping oil again. Sure wish someone would make them out of a much more durable material that could stand up to the heat. Unless that happens, I will just order the least expensive pair I can find online. This time happened to be rockauto.com, about $14 for the pair....

While doing this job I noticed that the exposed part of the passenger-side rear-most spark plug wiring harness was gradually being chaffed by the bottom rear corner edge of the black plastic spark plug bank dust cover on that side. I cut a 2-inch-long section of rubber transmission line hose, split it lengthwise with a box cutter, spread it open and forced it down and around the chaffed section of the wiring harness, and wrapped it secure with several layers of electrical tape. That homemade rubber sleeve should protect that rear spark plug's wiring harness from any additional chaffing damage against the black plastic spark plug bank dust cover edge. I was fortunate to spot this wear-and-tear damage when I was looking down and around the A/C hoses and piping in that area. I highly advise everyone with the 4.2 engine to check for any similar chaffing in this area....