"How much longer did I have" Secondary Tensioners

P700, very odd, should be orange. Looks like bakolite.

P700DEE - Thanks for posting images, will get to grips with that soon I hope.

inditime - I agree they do look like bakolite, same colour even where the chains have ran on pads !

I expect you would look a bit black if you had hot dirty engine oil being chucked at you for some years.

Seriously though when I had mine changed on the old X308 they were Orange too. I'm glad to see you got them changed just in time though otherwise it could of been quite costly.

Are these the original tensioners, ie the original plastic ones ?

I have nightmares about mine, the guy that I bought my car from assured me that the originals had been changed to the second generation metal type at around 60k. However I only have his word as there is no documentation. I called the garage that alegedly changed them and he is "sure" they were done !

How much did it cost to get them done ?

I believe that their is now a third generation tensioner ?

Barney

Hi Barneyboko,

Yes I believe these are the originals as they are plastic and have no spring assistance I now have nice shiney metal ones in place 3rd Generation, thought the second generation were still plastic but with springs someone on here with far more knowledge than me may confirm.
I was in the same position as you, my seller was quite sure and convincing that they had been done however we could find no documented evidence, therefore I just had to be sure and decided to change them as a precaution if nothing else, glad I did.
I have only changed the secondary tensioners and did this myself (I am a mechanical engineer) the job was quite simple using the non specilist tool method, the tensioners were about £80 deliverd for the pair from Berkshire Jags (very good service from these people) job took around 3 hours, probably the most cost effective 3 hours I have ever spent

its quite easy to remove the drivers cam cover and inspect them to see if they are metal. (take photos)

Great post Marko

I agree £80 and 3 hours time is a bargain for peace of mind. I am going to change mines regardless of what's on. do you know where there is any written procedure, to help guide the hand ?

Barney

Hi Barneyboko,
Yes there is a choice of proceedures on the following link, one using the reccomended Jaguar tools and the second which I used without specilist tools.
JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource - hope this is ok to post here, sure someone will tell me if not, let me know if you have any issues opening it. The second proceedure is what directed me, was well described and worked for me.
Best of luck.
Mark

Hi all, did mine on my XKR, three weeks ago, and they were identical to those in the photo, BOTH split and one top shoe missing on the left bank tensioner. MY MILEAGE WAS 68.000 ( S Plater), COST ME £74.00 as I re-used the gaskets which were in perfect condition.....Must drop the sump next to find all the bits that went somewhere?........Now have piece of mind and satisfactionn that I did them in time. Get um done lads.

Those are pretty bad. The only poorer ones you could see would be those discovered after a snapped chain!
As mentioned, normally they look orange after years of service. Those look like the've been baked dry, maybe low oil level or circulation in the past. Unfortunately Jaguar service history means nothing if the owner just relies on their dubious service and maintenance advice.

You can get what could be termed 4th generation for the early cars. Basically these are the metal 3rd generation for the later models, but have been machined for earlier cars.

Thanks Mark

These are excellent guides and easy to follow.

I will let you know if I can dig up the courage to try it myself !

Barney

Barney,
The job is not difficult, the lower rear most cam cover bolt is hard to get at but with a small 1/4 drive socket and a flexible joint can be done.
Take your time put rags in the hole where the main cam chains rise to the cams to stop any "bits" dropping down there, I have an XK8 and didnt need to drain the cooling header tank just simply unbolted it an moved it out the way. Take care with cam and tensioner bolts the torque required on these is low. Let me know how you get on if you go for it.
Best of luck.
Mark.