I recall reading some time back about a production date, after which Jaguar stopped putting in the plastic tensioners that can be checked by VIN number. I have been doing searches on this site for the last half hour or more, and there is a lot of information about the whole tensioner issue, but I can't find the info about checking the VIN number to see if my Jag has the plastic tensioners that need to be replaced. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Tom (testpoint) has that VIN, he is the one often providing the info. Do an advanced search for tensioner, and use only his posts, you might be able to find it before he sees this thread...

hurry!

 

Thanks, I called the Jag dealer and he told me that he thinks that I have the plastic tensioners, but not to worry about it until I start to hear some noises!

 

WARNING !!

Your Jaguar dealer seems too insouciant to me, but then, your car is way, way, out of warranty so it's not their problem any more.

When your engine starts making rattling noises from the top end, be aware that you could be only seconds away from disaster. If I were you, I would replace the tensioners with the metal-bodied items as soon as you can, if not before !

Your 2001 car would have been fitted with the plastic-bodied tensioners, but may have had replacements fitted. These could be revised items, but still plastic-bodied ones as Jaguar had two goes at fixing this problem before commonsense prevailed, (or the bean counters were overruled). These also fail !!

 

Sorry I took so long.

Yes, your '01 came with the plastic tensioners but the only way to tell the current status is to pull a valve cover. You might have also found a post where the owner found one changed to metal but the other remained plastic. Might call that a half-a$$ed repair.

Incidentally, the transition date was August 13, 2001 at the engine plant. The engine assembly date is the only way, short of pulling a valve cover to verify the status. Plastic or metal has no direct link to the VIN number. The engine serial number has the date encoded in it. The above date would produce a serial number of 010813xxxx. Your engine serial number can be obtained from a dealer using the VIN.

There are excellent discussions on the subject, and an outstanding pictorial of the replacement here:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=29800

Look alphabetically for 'tensioners'

 

Thanks guys, I have already decided to get them changed out. I am not going to wait for them to start making noises! I realize that there could be a complete failure just seconds after the first noise. I knew that you would be somewhat amazed at what the guy told me.

 

the only way to tell and be for sure is by removing the cam covers,if i recall correctly jaguar updated the chains 1/2 2002 MY all 2003 and up cars have the metal type