My jealous friend scared me with timing belt change interval

[matt_le]

Hallo everyone,
I'm really happy I could finally join this very forum as 6 weeks ago I finally decided stop giving a toss  about little things in only one life we have and got myself second hand XF 3.0d Premium Luxury  with only 51k miles on the clock 62 plate. I have service book - first 3 stamps by Jaguar next 3 by independent vat registered company + all paper works what has been checked. 
I tried to find one definitive answer for a question: what is interval for changing timing belt ? Is it 105k miles / 10 years, or maybe some of you had some bad experience being forced to get it sorted before this mileage ? Friend of mine found something about 50k miles / 5 years which does sound bit short for me.
Cheers - Matt.

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the Club, Matthew.

Your XF seems a well looked after car with a full service record.  

M s type 2.7d is the predecessor of the XF diesel and the engines are similar.  I have not heard of any cam belt trouble with the engines as owners do tend to have them replaced when they should.  My car had a new engine when in Jaguar ownership at 28k miles when 2 years old.  The cam belt will be replaced in March eve though there is only 79k on the clock.

Enjoy your XK.  The Jaguar experience is quite unique.

Regards,

Peter.

[Clive Hunt]

Matt,

My 62 plate XF S 3.0D has been Jaguar serviced since new. It has done 82k and its next service will be, according to the book, the 106k (12mths or 16k (which ever is the sooner)) during which they will change the timing belt.

I have a service plan with Jaguar which spreads the cost over the year as this service will be around £1500 (main dealer prices)  due to the timing belt change etc.

Hope this helps.

Clive Hunt

[Old Peter]

Main dealer service prices are quite high.

I had a Rover 825 Sterling, and its first service from new was free --  part of the deal. When it came to the second service the listed price [in 2001] in the dealership from where the car was bought was £325 +VAT.  As a pensioner and from Lancashire [we would sooner be drowned than done] I started looking around for a cheaper price.  Coincidentally, a flyer was put on my car by a Rover trained mobile mechanic who quoted £75 for a full service.  He has looked after my cars ever since and a full service in June was £130.  My cars - Rover for 10 years, Jaguar x type 2 years, and Jaguar s type for 5 years- have been treated as if he owned the car.

A full service plus belt changes will cost about £500.

Peter.

[matt_le]

Thanks all for your answers. 
With only 51k on the clock I'll wait then till 80k  and will ask in local garages (there are couple of trustful ones) to have a look on it - if its possible to - visual check of condition of belts. 
Meanwhile - I will definitely enjoy ride.
 

[Jon Hyde]

Hi Peter,

Would he travel to West Sussex??? 😉

J

[Old Peter]

Hi Jon,

Afraid not!  As you can guess he is very busy in the West Midlands

Regards,

Peter.

[Rhys]

I've just bought a nice 2010 XF S and the cam belt was done at 101k miles and cost £439.00 from a main dealer in Bolton if that helps. That was a 'price match' so the original owner must've found it cheaper elsewhere. Guessing that could be brought down a bit with a club discount?

[Happyowner]

I have  XF Sportbrake 3-0 S 2014 purchased in 2015 full Jaguar service history currently undertaken by a registered Jaguar Service Centre , post last year service (2022) was advised the timing belt and high pressure fuel pump belts were scheduled for renewal ( Jaguar recommendation) cost of the renewal including Jaguar Silver service £1396 the vehicle has covered 41000 mls from new. Following the recommendation I had the works undertaken ,a fellow cricketer who works for a local Jaguar Main Dealer told me they  frequently change the belts and under visual inspection look as good as the day they were fitted . You pays your money .

[Carl Gibbs]

I had mine changed at 102,000. I have a 3.0 V6 on a 60 plate. 

Belt was removed and looked in great condition, but better to be safe than sorry I guess!

[LairdScooby]

On 11/13/2018 at 8:39 PM, matt_le said:

Thanks all for your answers. 
With only 51k on the clock I'll wait then till 80k  and will ask in local garages (there are couple of trustful ones) to have a look on it - if its possible to - visual check of condition of belts. 
Meanwhile - I will definitely enjoy ride.
 

A word to the wise - timing belts being rubber, deteriorate with age as well as use/mileage in the same way tyres get hard with age. This is exacerbated by not using the car frequently as the belt will come to rest and stay there. As the natural oils in the rubber aren't circulated within by movement/heat generated by the movement, they tend to dry out and go brittle. This can cause unexpected failure.

Granted timing belts are reinforced but that reinforcement needs the rubber to be in good condition to work. The reinforcement is only as good as the rubber of the timing belt it's bonded within.

Manufacturers specify a time as well as a mileage limit specifically to take this into account. I'd strongly suggest having the belt checked at least once a year between now and your anticipated renewal mileage and if there's any doubt, have it changed. It's much cheaper to have the belt changed than an engine rebuild for bent valves after a stripped or broken timing belt which would have to be replaced at the same time as well.

A recent example for me of rubber going hard with age - i bought my S Type just under a year ago and the front tyres are Pirelli P6000 (as per OE spec), the rears are P7. I have a Vovlo 760 estate i use as a "Dogmobile" which is running on cheap Chinese tyres (surprisingly good and definitely not deserving of the "Ditchfinder" moniker) and took a T junction near me in the Jag during the recent icy weather. The Jag nearly made intimate contact with a telegraph pole on the pavement! 😮

The Volvo on the other hand turned as it should, despite the black ice. Both cars have ~5-6mm tread on the front tyres so it's not that, the difference is the P6000s on the front of the Jag are 10 years old! The fronts on the Volvo are just over 5 years old with the rears being about 18 months - the fronts had previously been on the rear but a pot hole knocked my alignment out and scrubbed the previous set of front tyres out so the rear tyres went on the front and a new pair was fitted to the back.

This prompted an all-round tyre inspection on the Jag and i discovered that not only were the P7s on the back 5 years old but were the wrong speed rating for the car! Naturally i'll be renewing all 4 tyres on the Jag in the near future but it makes you think when old rubber pulls those kind of nasty tricks!