Hi all,

I have been giving the camchain tensioner issue some thought recently, with my 2010 SC being readied for registration in NZ (it is not affected by it, yet?) and I think I may have found a much easier / cheaper way to solve the problem.

After doing quite a bit of research, it seems that the problem is quite simple to resolve. The new chain tensioner guides have a small steel disc, where the old version had a cavity in the aluminium. The disc seems to sit in the original cavity. The aluminium wears away a bit over time (soft compared to the spring plunger of the tensioner) and the plunger gets to the end of its stroke and not being able to put enough tension on any more.

First I found a guy doing a JLR V8 engine on Youtube, showing how to minimise the work of getting to the tensioners and chains. And he shows how to remove / re-install the tensioner guides by "only" removing the front engine covers (and not the valve covers / injector rails). He locks the camshafts with tie-wraps so they don't move while the chain tension is off. That in itself saves a lot of work to start with.

That way he is able to get the chain guides out and replace them (as well as the tensioners).

When I saw that, I realised that by removing the old guides and "fixing" those, the job could also be done with a similar end result.

So my plan (if/when I need to) is to get a set of 10 mm diameter, 2.4 mm thick, valve shims (in my case the ones for a KTM motorbike are easy to get here, 16 NZD plus 6 NZD shipping). I will remove the guides, clean them, use high temp Loctite (left over from my gun modification days) to glue the shims into the pockets. These shims are hardened steel so they'll live "forever".

The high temp Loctite is good for temperatures up to 175 C and considering where they are, that is way more than they will ever experience, normal Loctite would be too close to its limit for my liking.

Once the Loctite is cured, I will then return the guides and re-install the tensioners (after giving them a thorough clean and check).

I think this would do exactly the same as installing a brand new set costing hundreds of dollars/pounds.

What do you think ???? MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

No idea about the 5.0 having a 4.4 TD myself, however I love your detective work.

One observation is the cable ties on the cam drives which seems a bit dodge - I know on other engines you can get a lock tool, would you not use one/two of those?

Keep us posted on the project!



. Cheers, Greg
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2011 Vogue SE 4.4 with lots of toys in Stornaway

In the YouTube clip he used the more sturdy version of cable ties but yeah I was a bit apprehensive as well. The locking kits look like they go on top and front, so require the valve covers to come of I think, i.e. that means lots of extra work.

Will keep you posted, unless someone else who needs to do his/her RR / Jag first and wants to try this . MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

The zip tie method is actually an official Land Rover procedure. I posted my experience with it but it seems the thread is no longer here. Cant understand why.

But you can read about it here. https://www.rangerovers.net/threads/5-0l-t...od.335252/

I have thought about doing something similar regarding the tensioner arms but decided to rather replace them with the new type. Less risky

Brilliant write-up and thank you very much for all the tips.

My background in engineering and my dads dedication to always find the best and cheapest way of fixing things have definitely formed my convictions, so I will be trying the shim / Loctite method just because I am convinced it will work. I wouldn't be surprised that the shims on the new version are fitted in the same way to new guides of the old model anyway!!

Will keep you posted, at present the cam chains still seem to be tight but I was just trying to do the research and plan the job before I was forced to do it in a hurry. Glad to hear that the tie-wrap method is an official JLR method!! MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

I'm sure many will say that this kind of approach is a bodge, but I've had enough 'unconventional' changes made to race engines over the years to know that you should assess items on their merits. If it's well thought out and carried out appropriately, then all good.

Although must be said, when I had mine done, i'd just paid approx £27k for the car, so I wasn't going to scrimp on the parts/labour to keep it perfect. So I bought genuine parts, and got a good local mechanic to carry out the work.

A couple of bits (from memory) that may be of help though:

The new tensioner part was different in casting to the old one. It was not the same old casting with an insert.
The chains didn't appear too bad, although obviously I replaced them all while it was apart
The specialist locking tool wasn't that expensive. My mechanic bought it for the job and it was around £120.
They updated one of the water connections on the front of the block. The original one cracked on disassembly and when i went to buy one JLR has superseded it with a better designed part.

While apart you may want to replace the coupler on the supercharger if you haven't already. From JLR you have to get the whole charger but the are a couple of places who sell an upgraded coupler on its own.