So 8-9 months ago I bought my first XJ8, 99 Silver one I currently have for sale. The kid I bought it from said it was his parents and was given to him as a graduation present but it was an old mans cars and wanted something sporty. I asked him (since the car had 120K on it) if the tensioners were ever done. He said yeah, his parents had something fixed with the timing chains a couple years back but thats all he knew. I bought the car cheap enough that I figured if I had to do them I was still in good shape.

Skip ahead 8-9 months, I had forgotten about the tensioners as I had other cars and things going on. So while working on my non starting 99 VDPabout a week ago I decide to pull the covers and check the tensioners. Well, as like many others have witnessed, there are hairline cracks on both sides. So Im not really sure what I want to do with it but since I havent checked the compression or the fuel system yet I really dont care Ill get to when I get to it.

I have however had my Silver 99 for sale and havent really had any action on it with Christmas and all so since I dont want to lie to anyone about the tensioners I decided to pull the covers. Remember, the kid claimed they were done. The car now has just short of 128K on it. Well, I pull the covers and they are the original style tensioners... with NO cracks, not even hairlines ones. They look brand new but..... they arent they cant be. Here though is my question.

Could it be possible that this car had them done and the mechanic shop put plastic ones back on it ? Look we all know they are destine to fail. But im really stumped as my 99 VDP has 100K on it and those look warn while the Silver 99 ones look new. I did take pictures but they just show like new tensioners. I know some say once they are removed you will find cracks in places that cant be seen no matter how hard you try but still im just curious.

128K look new
100K look old, cracked and ready to let loose

Comments are appreciated.

At this point I will be honest, tell the person interested they are the plastic ones and show them the pictures also. But just curious what you guys would do/say. I really dont want to replace them at this point I need the car sold since I bought the VDP to replace it then went and bought the XKR convertible also so im car heavy and toy cash light, LOL.

 

Your car was, most likely, manufactured with the first generation plastic tensioners that Jaguar upgraded to gen II in Feb '99. The upgrade consisted primarily of adding a spring to maintain tension on the chain in case of oil pressure failure due to a cracked body. The plastic still failed. The gen II plastic tensioners remained in dealer/indy/supplier stock for some time after the move to metal in August of '01. In fact, gen II plastic tensioners were still being sold on eBay up to a couple years ago.

So, yes, the tensioners could have been replaced with new plastic ones. And, yes, the common body crack location cannot be seen without removing the unit from the car.

The car needs a home with a hobby mechanic anyway and it is less than $200 in parts to upgrade them.

 

Yes, the plastic tensioners are still for sale from some places. BPI (Motorcars Ltd) still has them listed on the website cheaper than the metal units.

bob gauff