Here is bried history.. I bought a 1998 Jaguar XK8 Convertible last winter which had really bad paint fade on the rear quarter panels and trunk... had the car painted.... the painter sprayed down my engine and basically ruined my ECU and Transmission module or whatever it is called... I had them replaced and the car now runs a little rougher at idle then when I purchased it... heard that the new ECU might have to learn the new car and driving style..

The check engine light went away after about 20 miles of driving but the car still runs about the same.. and it has been about 150 miles total.... and now I hear a quite loud ticking/rattling sound when under 1/3 gas peddle pressure around 1,500 rpm's or so.. it goes away around 3,000-4,000 rpms... and this ticking/rattling sound isn't as loud after the engine has warmed up and has been driven for a while.... and the other day around 55mpg it felt kind of sluggish like it didn't want to go any faster... it also seems slightly underpowered compared to before... but this could be in my mind...

My first thought is secondary tensioners... which I want to check this week.. any other thoughts on what it could be?

Thanks!

 

I think this is the sound of tensioner going bad or bad. I am certain one of the more experienced members will speak up, but until then I would def not drive it.........

 

It could also be water ingress around the spark plugs.
check them first.
if they´re all dry, it´s about to do the tensioners and chains, as most probably the chain has been clattering around for a while, in case you´ve got a broken tensioner

 

Could the water still be in around the spark plugs 4 months after he sprayed my engine compartment with water? Or is there another way for the water to get into the spark plugs?

Thanks guys!

Anyone else have any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

and I just watched a youtube video on how to change the spark plugs but how would I know there is "water ingress" ?

 

Can anyone else chime in on the spartk plug regress and what else it could be.. just looking for some direction so I can try to tackle this, this week.

Thanks!

 

Spark Plug examination/replacement is easy. Just remove the Small Covers on top of the Cam Covers.

Then remove the Coils and look inside the Plug Recesses for Water or Oil.

Soak up any Water/Oil and then remove and inspect the Plugs.

Oil in the Passages indicates a leaking Cam Cover Seal around the Plug Recess..

Water indicates ingress past the Small Covers that you removed on the top of the Cam Covers.

 

Someone else also posted a great idea and I thought i would pass it along.

Blow out the hole that the spark plugs sit in with compressed air before removing the plugs. Anything that is left in the hole has the potential to end up in the cylinder. Not a good thing.

Barry

 

I think you're being led down the wrong path with the spark plugs.

There's no reason for water to be in your spark plug wells. Your engine isn't supercharged, so there's no coolant up above and almost zero potential for water in your spark plug wells unless the engine was aggressively powerwashed, and recently.

If your car has the original timing chain tensioners, you absolutely MUST have them replaced with the newest metal version. I recommend you get the car to a good, independent shop (not a dealer, unless you have to) and have them check it out.

What exactly happened between the guy with the paint sprayer and your engine? What was he trying to do?

 

I was going to try to tackle the timing chain myself, was going to take a few 3-4 hours and read all of the threads on here about checking, check them, and then change them myself if they are plastic etc. It seems to be a somewhat ok job for the car newbie I am... Would the timing chain problem cause it to make that noise only between those RPM's that I stated and not just all the way accross the board... and cause the slight hesitation etc.?

I did see a great video on youtube about changing the spark plugs so if this problem gets fixed I will tackle that next....

I bought the car knowing it had real bad paint fade on the trunk and rear quarter panels, had it re-painted black, the guy sprayed down the engine compartment to get rid of the white residue, primer, and got the ECU and Transmission module ECU wet, he ruined them both, had them replaced and luckily the new ones worked, but the car has not ran the same ever since.... the car was quiet and smooth, now it is noticable louder at idle then before.... any idea on why that would be?

Then a hundred miles later or so, I started getting the ticking noise etc...

I really hope to get this car running right as I love the looks etc...

 

You could possibly reseat the connectors on the ECU in case the connection is not great.

But, you really should have the tensioners inspected to find out whether they need replacement or not.

Your symptoms are classic for the tensioner having slipped a tooth already.

Once you have the cam covers off, and the spark plugs out, the job is 80 percent done. Sooooo.... after all that undressing you might as well go all the way. (there's an off colour joke in there somewhere )

 

Yes, changing the tensioners with the cable tie method is really easy, even with a newbie skills. The only actual tricky parts were some bolts of the cover in a bit of tight places, needed to go and buy an extra wrench to reach all properly. You may want to equip yourself with a variety of them with twisting and fixed ends, 10 mm I think was the size.

And when you lift the cover out do not turn it upside down and lose some of the bolts! It took me an hour to find them all...

Jouko