Well replacing the cam cover gaskets is already on my list of things to do so I will be at least that far in.

What I am trying to figure out is if the shuttle valves can be changed without removing the entire VVT solenoid assembly?

Hard to find a pic of this particular part/area and searching fro VVT shuttle valve comes up with nothing.

Anyone got any good engine pics showing the location of the shuttle valve?

EDIT:
Is the shuttle valve an integral part of the VVT body?

 

Hi RazorBoy in Las Vegas! are should I say Lost Wages!

First things first! Drain the Oil and put in some of that Royal Purple stuff or any synthetic oil, should do the trick! If not, then it could be the VVT...When I got my 2003 XKR I could hear 1 valve tapping at start up; later I found that the Guy I bought it from wasn't using a synthetic, just plain old 30W Pennzoil...The Mobil 1 5/30 did the trick!

Billy Clyde in Houston

 

Hey Billy,
Thanks for the tip. Whats incredibly funny is that I DO use Royal Purple. As a matter of fact, I use the XPR Racing Synthetic which sells for about 17.00 a quart! Oil is definitely not my problem.....lol

 

Hi Razorboy,

Does this help:



I think once you remove the bolt that the whole assembly slides up and out.
I can't find any reference in JEPC, but member Dale Dunn replaced a broken one in his motor.

Mike

Edit: Sorry I didn't read your question carefully enough; I think valve & solenoid come as one unit.Doesn't look as if it dismantles:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VVT-Camshaft...-/161955778957

 

The noise sounds like the cam chain tensioners. Pull one valve cover and have a look at it to be sure everything is in place and not worn. The 4.2 has the updated metal tensioners that solved the problems of the earlier models with the plastic ones but they could still have an issue.

 

Should have mentioned that there are a couple different oil filters for the 4.2, make sure you have the one for the 03 XK, not XJ. The wrong one can let the system drain after shut down. The Jag does not have anti drain valves in the heads., it relies on the filter.

 

Oldmots, I thought the oil filters were interchangeable between the 4.2 XJ and the 4.2 XK?

Or are you just saying that it has to have an anti drain back valve (which, to my understanding, most decent grade filters have)?

I've used these since I purchased the XJ...


I picked one up for the XK but I have not replaced it yet.

 

The XK and the XJ use different filters, I know because I have had both cars at the same time. If you put an XJ filter on the XK, you can get tapping noise, don't ask me how I know.

 

???

I'm curious as to where you got this information? Both the 4.2 XJ and the 4.2 XK utilize the same engines (I also own both). Both are susceptible to start up clatter due to oil draining back, and both engines need anti drain back valves in their filters.

Most places I have searched, including Jaguar dealer sites, list the same part number for both oil filters.

 

my 97 xk8 made that noise on startup also, it fixed itself by eating the valves. now motor is shot, but it doesn't make the noise anymore.
have it looked at, now

 

2003 and up did not suffer from the same cam chain issues as your 97. I've heard many examples of that and it sounds nothing like what my car sounds like when I first start it.

All things point to the VVT system for me but thanks for the cautionary tale.

 

The noise seems to be caused by a slack chain, maybe a failing tensioner.
One tensioner needs a short time to apply pressure, - beware - chain can jump a tooth.
Why should 3rd generation tensioners never fail?

 

Not sure if it helps to understand how the tensioners changed. Early style had a type of plastic that made main body. This was changed to a metal body. The part that actually pushes up on chain is basically the same with a plastic shoe on the end that chain slides against. That shoe does wear and I assume fail and fall off like original style. Another thing is they all work off a hydrolic oil pressure. I would assume ownership period of poor maintenance could cause oil channel to be clogged.

 

Razorboy,
I haven't checked this thread for a while. Hearing your noise, I can say it is the same sound my engine makes (not always) on cold startup. I still have done nothing to fix it and maybe never will. After that split second of rattle, the engine is smooth, quiet and ready to rock 'n roll. Jaguar seems to think the VVT noise is basically harmless and that's good enough for me (ignoring Jag's track record with "sealed-for-life" trannys).

 

I have not heard of any 3rd gen tensioners failing. I'd be willing to bet a bundle that Razorboy's noise is the VVT units (as is my noise). If it were the tensioners and he has continued driving, by now they would probably have failed completely and his engine could well be toast. His sound does not seem to have gotten worse, so I really think that rules out tensioners. I've lived with my noise for over two years and it has not changed. Only happens when my engine has sat overnight or more than a few hours, and even then not always. I'm so used to it, I really don't even note it anymore.

 

[QUOTE=Stamford;1625095]I have not heard of any 3rd gen tensioners failing. I'd be willing to bet a bundle that Razorboy's noise is the VVT units (as is my noise). If it were the tensioners and he has continued driving, by now they would probably have failed completely and his engine could well be toast. His sound does not seem to have gotten worse, so I really think that rules out tensioners. I've lived with my noise for over two years and it has not changed. Only happens when my engine has sat overnight or more than a few hours, and even then not always. I'm so used to it, I really don't even note it anymore.[/QUOT

Something new for you

AGCO Automotive Repair Service - Baton Rouge, LA - Detailed Auto Topics - Timing Chain Problems II

A short extract of the link:

"One of the more common symptoms of a worn timing chain is noise, especially on startup. A rattling noise coming from the engine may show a seriously worn timing chain. Slack in the chain allows it to strike the timing cover. This may produce debris, worn from the timing cover or produce a hole in the cover and a serious oil leak.
Ford modular V-8 engines, such as the 4.6, 5.0 and 5.4 liter seem to have a particular problem with this. After a few seconds, the tensioners tighten the chains and the noise stops. Lack of the noise after running, does not suggest the lack of a problem. The tensioners are masking the noise. "


Even 5.0l tensioners fail.
From post 15 in this thread : 5.0l cam chain tensioner problem - Page 2


"I don't think the 5.0 tensioners have the same level of issue that the 4.0 engines had - basically, if your original 4.0 tensioners haven't failed, they're going to. But a couple of people on the US forum have had tensioner issues on the 5.0 cars; they're hydraulic tensioners, so they have a ratchet mechanism to keep them taut when there's no oil pressure. In some cases the ratchet fails, so the tensioner goes loose when the car is off, and it takes a few seconds for them to pressure up when the car starts. This leads to a brief chatter from the chain until the tensioner pressurises and takes the slack out - that's the symptom that attracts attention. I guess, worst case, the chain will slip and then Bad Things happen. But this doesn't seem to be an epidemic problem like the 4.0 had."

 

Same here and I have researched this quite a bit since the noise affects me and my car.

Suffice to say that when I dig into this (soon), I will be digging in deep to discover where the noise is truly coming from. The forum will be the benefactors of whatever I discover but I will say that I have seen many reports of this type of noise on startup and also noises associated with cam chain tensioners and the noise doesn't sound the same.

My XK is not a daily so I don't need to rush on this but I do want to resolve it as it lets the car down IMO.