Bought a Used 1997 XK8 off ebay... have to say experience has not been a pleasing one! Seller totally misrepresented car. Dead battery when car arrived on shipper... replaced battery then Battery Not Charging light and engine fault... replaced alternator car now charging but light still on and goes into engine fault after a few minutes... read forum and decided to send out ECM to ASI they were great said ECM was shot rebuilt it now car running good but battery not charging light still on wtf!! sorry had to! BTW loosened and re-tighted all connections still no luck with gauge and light... but now I am concerned and would rather be preventative with the tensioners... car has 118K miles is there any way to tell if the tensioners have been done??

 

The only practical way to tell is to remove each valve cover and check for the metal bodied secondary tensioners.

 

if the job was done at a dealer they would do both sides correct?? Can I get a way with taking off one.. if so how difficult?

 

You need to check both sides. In my case, I had a second generation plastic tensioner on the passenger side...bad...and a first generation plastic tensioner on the driver's side...REALLY bad.

As for difficulty, not too bad. Be prepared with new gaskets for the reinstall. Search this forum...there are many threads on the procedure and what to look for.

Good luck.

 

Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you have had such bad luck. I would like to see you post information regarding who you bought the car from. It might keep someone else from getting stuck.

But the attached link will show you exaclty what it looks like in there. These are shots I took with a narrative on how to replace the upper tensioners. But with that many miles you might need to do the whole thing. But I would have a look by removing BOTH cam covers and make sure before you drive. Don't even start the engine any more than you have to. And look on both sides. We had one member that bought a car and one side had been done and the other had not.

Good luck.

EZDriver 95 XJ6 2000 Xk8

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ics-faq-52653/

 

I think you'll find it useful to post in the new members section.

I have a feeling you may want to see forum attachments etc soon.

 

Measure the actual voltage at the battery with a multimeter with the engine running to see if you have a real charging problem still. It should be in the 14 volt neighborhood.

 

I would simply assume it has the older ones on it if there is no documenation of them being changed. Call the dealership it came from and ask for service records on the warranty and any other work done. If there's no indication of an engine change, etc then I don't think there's any reason not to assume it has the plastic tensioners. That's what I did and I just had the metal ones put on, it did have the plastic ones on and they were cracked.

 

Well the frustration continues... Noticed some coolant dripping from rear pass side of engine please tell me there is a hose or connection that may be leaking and not a head gasket issue... noticed the car heats up to halfway and stays there but haven't seen the fans kick on... is this normal???

Bought this nightmare at Car Center of Charlotte County in FL total thief left negative feedback on EbaY and of course he says I am the liar on Ebay Feedback... I wish there was more I could do... Sorry to whine I was so excited to get my first Jaguar.... can you say EPIC FAIL!!!!

 

It does now read 14.5 volts at the battery but light still on...

 

It is MUCH more likely that you have a bad hose connection or hose than a leaky head gasket. You need to have a cooling system pressure test done to locate the leak. If you do have a leak, take any 'coolant low' message you get seriously. Overheating can come on quickly with a fast cooling system leak.

The coolant gauge is basically an idiot light with a needle...you need to be virtually in an overheat situation before that needle budges from the center. See https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...e-gauge-62813/. Usually the fans do not turn on unless you are idling on a hot day or there is a cooling system fault or the AC is on.

I suspect your charging system is working. The charge fault signal wire and connector between the alternator and the instrument cluster should be investigated.

I agree your seller was dishonest, but your remaining problems now sound relatively minor...stick with it and you will start enjoying your car soon!