Hi, I'm contemplating removing the valve cover to find out if my 01 xk8 has the original plastic tensioners on it or not. Hornburg Jaguar in Hollywood told me to ONLY take off the cover and put it back on would be $560!

Is there any sort of procedure with pictures here or anywhere else to give me an idea of how involved that would be? This is my only form of transportation and I'm in LA with no one to give me a ride so it's not an easy decision.

 

The insurance manual lists it as 3 hours of labor (although an experienced mechanic should be able to do it in quite a bit less, IMHO)...so it kind of make sense at CA dealer prices. Try to find a Jaguar independent mechanic in the area.

 

If you look in the various articles about changing the tensioners there is mention of valve cover removal in some of them.

The only difficult spot is the tab on the oil dipstick tube that has to be moved to one side.

You might decide to work on that one fastener one night. Then go after valve cover removal as one night per valve cover.

If you remove one valve cover and find the plastic tensioner, you may as well wait on the other until you have the new tensioners on hand. Most of the work in the job is just getting there.

The valve cover r&r should be 2 hours max per side.

 

ok thanks. yeah if one side has the plastic tensioner then I'll just assume the other does and have someone else replace both of them I don't think I'm up to doing that job at my apartment.

 

In that case, choose the right hand side ... it's easier.

If you do find the metal tensioner on one side, don't assume the other side is also metal. It's been seen to be one of each on JF before.

 

Here is a link to just removing the valve cover. Don't let the oil check tube issue cause you not to do this but Plums is correct, the right side is easier.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/j...17/#post316489

If you find plastic there are much longer descriptions of how to DIY. Search or holler back if you need them.

. . . and welcome to the forum!