2001 Jaguar XJ8 Project

[Jaguar steve]

Lewis's Friend said:

Jaguar steve said:

I noticed that too.

The orange plastic ones are the first gen type, the second gen are a off white plastic which can also fail and the ones you really want to see are the third gen aluminum bodied type which are a err... sort of aluminum colour.

They are on my list, though I had assumed they would be the second gen tensioners due to the year of the car?

Obviously not!

Easy enough to change though.

Rather than faff about sourcing the correct timing tools to lock the cams and starter ring plate in place all you need to do is tie the secondary chain to the exhaust and inlet cam sprockets to preserve the valve timing and remove the exhaust camshaft. With a helper holding the cam away from the engine there's just enough length in the secondary chain to wriggle the old tensioner out and the new one in.

I changed my 2nd gen type on my 2001 XJ in 2012. At the time the car had done just over 30k and had been serviced every year.
.


You can see how the tensioner bodies have discolored to a dirty oil shade of tan and that there's a small crack starting on one of the bodies

[Lewis's Friend]

A small update on the Jag. Since finishing the servicing all has been well, though not many miles covered due to lockdown and the weather; while I'm not overly precious with this car, taking it out when all the roads have just been gritted seemed unwise!

I do try to drive it at least once a week though as I feel that cars that don't move go wrong... However, it turns out that cars that do move have stones flicked into their headlights. Alas...

20210202_143715 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

Happily new headlights aren't exorbitant prices, so £27 later a nice secondhand one arrived to be fitted. These just pop on and off of three balls and cups so there is not issue with headlight alignment etc. A nice simple job.

Halfway through the operation, and with my Mx5 getting a service too:

20210202_144130 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

And finally fitted. I didn't bother cleaning any of the other lights, to make the new one appear even more shiny in comparison!

20210202_145956 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

So not much to report, but equally no dramas either which is nice.

[Lewis's Friend]

I thought I would post a small update just, though nothing has happened really. I've been using the car without issue (and though not a garage queen, I did decide against using it when all the roads were salt covered) which is nice!

I thought I'd take a few photos of it, though I am absolutely no kind of photographer - as is entirely obvious below!

20210224_102042 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

20210223_231039 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

20210223_230509 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

20210224_101944 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

20210223_140732 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

[anonymous-user]

Great photos, and the car looks fantastic - peak Jaguar right there. I can't think of a better looking four door saloon made in the last 30 years; if they were some exotic thing they'd only sold a few thousand of people would fawn over them. The only thing that's comparable would be some flavour of Maserati Quattroporte (and I see those as more similar to the X308 than some German tank).

[B'stard Child]

You've put a lot of work into that - should be good for a long while

Are you planning to do the same suspension/subframe refurb on the rear end?

[Lewis's Friend]

Cheers for the comments - it's definitely getting there.

I'm umming and ahhing about doing the back end of the car. If I keep it then for sure it'll get done. My problem is since my mrs has been working from home I have three cars to try and use which means one of them at least doesn't get much use and as the weather improves I'll be using my mx5 more.

So I may have to put it up for sale and see if I get any interest. But we shall see - I haven't made up my mind yet.

[Lewis's Friend]

A very small update, just to finish off the AC saga...!

Having changed the aircon compressor and pressure switch, the weather took a turn for the colder which makes regassing the system trickier. Given the chill, I was happy enough to wait until the weather warmed up slightly.

As the temperature crept above 6degC, I got the mobile AC guy round to regas.

Before he arrived, I changed the receiver/drier - I did this last minute to try and keep it as effective as possible. 4 bolts and it was in, so not hard happily.

Old drier removed:

20210225_090832 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

New drier bolted in but still bunged:

20210225_090428 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

And piped up. Happily all the o-rings were in good condition and everything went together easily.

20210225_090759 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

Finally, the regas. The vacuum was pulled and held without issue which was nice after replacing quite a few components in the system.

20210225_101131 by Jon Fellows, on Flickr

The air is ice cold now, which is perfect as the weather turns colder again, but ready for summer at least now!

Edited by Lewis's Friend on Monday 1st March 17:16

[chazwozza]

So reading this and a couple other threads has inspired me and together with my Dad we have bought a 2001 4.0 Sovereign. Sorry for the poor pic, my missus took it as me and Mr C snr were giggling just after purchase. Had some cash lying around and you aren't getting any interest in the bank!!! Anyway, enjoying your thread and hoping to pick up some tips.

Thanks for the inspiration again!!!