Dear Fellow Forum Members,

I have been on the hunt for a clean XJR for a while. To me these are classic looking cars that will never go out of style. I found a very good specimen 00 XJR 72K miles that is in very good condition, had the PPI done at the dealership and it came back with the following items:

1. There is a coolant hose that is swollen and needs replacement.
2. Cam cover gaskets leaking oil.
3. Engine mount leaking fluid.
4. The transmission electrical plugs are leaking fluid.
5. The rear shock large mount bushing is torn.

The dealership has quoted $3K in repairs for items 1-5. I separately asked about the secondary tensioners and they quoted $1200 for both primary and secondary tensioners.

Here are my specific questions for you:

· Does it make sense to have the timing chain changed out as well while replacing the primary and secondary tensioners? From what I have read the TSB only lists the secondary tensioners, but god willing I would like to keep this car for a while and have it as a daily driver hence my question should I just have all the tensioners and timing chain done in one go so it is over and done with. I will take it to my own mechanic, but are there any special Jaguar specific tools that are needed for this repair?

· Is there a good online vendor from whom I can get the rear shock large mount bushing, engine mount and transmission electrical plugs?

· I am planning on having kit#5 and kit#5 and kit#7 ordered from http://www.jagservice.net/mailorder.htm. This will address the water pump thermostat, change the spark plugs, change the tensioners, timing chain, seals and gaskets. Are there any other items that I would needed addressed?

· Does the vehicle need a transmission flush considering it is coming up on 14 years although it hasn’t hit 90K miles?

· What is longevity of these engines and transmission? I can out of pocket pay for the car and all these repairs, just trying to better understand if these vehicles stand up well once the common issues have been addressed.

Thank you in advance for reading my long post and offering your feedback.

 

The early XJR tranny is supplied by Mercedes and is reasonably bullet proof. Fluid is supposed to be lifetime but I would change it.

The upper tensioners can fail catastrophically. Lowers can crack over time but won't wreck your engine. $1,200 for upper and lower by the dealer is not a terrible price.

 

[QUOTE=Britrover;1014987] ....>>>>>

1. There is a coolant hose that is swollen and needs replacement.
2. Cam cover gaskets leaking oil.
3. Engine mount leaking fluid.
4. The transmission electrical plugs are leaking fluid.
5. The rear shock large mount bushing is torn.

The dealership has quoted $3K in repairs for items 1-5. I separately asked about the secondary tensioners and they quoted $1200 for both primary and secondary tensioners.....>>>>>>

To put it simply....if you intend keeping this car for some time then the costs you have related are not unreasonable.
It would be prudent to replace the entire timoing chain system....no point in doing half the job.
When all thes items are attended to which are normal wear and tear items, you will be in contol of one of lifes great pleasures ;o)
As for longevity....that is relative to good and regular servicing with quality lubricants.
The AJV8 series engine attached to the Mercedesa box make for a long lived combination when looked after..
At 72k...it's just a baby and 300k is no problem. ;o)

 

$1200 for upper and lower tensioners is a pretty good price at the dealer. I would seek out an independent jag shop and compare prices.

 

To me, the upper /lower tensioner price seems low for a dealer and the rest of the stuff seems a little high. Are you sure they were doing upper and lower for $1,200?

 

Gents,

Many thanks for all your responses. Yes, the dealer quoted in writing the price for the primary and secondary tensioners. I would agree that it is a good price as some independent shops were asking over $2k. I am going to pick up the car tomorrow and ask the dealer one more time on the quote for the timing chain plus tensioners, if the quote is reasonable I will have them do it and the rest of the work done by my mechanic. Else, everything will be done by him. He is a Land Rover specialist, but does work on other cars.

 

I expect you realize the cam cover gaskets should be part of the tensioner change.

 

Britrover...when I bought my cat in 2006 with 132.000klm, I had the following performed as part of the purchase deal.
Full timing chains and tensioners both primary and secondary.
Water pump and thermostat.
New rad. hoses top and bottom.
New serpentine belt.
New Jurid coupling-gearbox end.
Gearbox fully flushed.
PS and diff oils changed.
Pluss at the time, I bought a series of spare parts, like air filters, oil filters, plugs, 4 new brake discs.
Front and rear pads.
Now in 2014, it has coverd 205,000klm and purring contentedly ;o)