Hello All,

It's been quite a while since I last posted since I sold my beloved 1999 XJ8L to a good friend who'd been enjoying it for a bit over two years now. Sadly, the car was just plowed in to about a week ago and the damage makes it a total loss as far as the insurance company goes.

She would like to replace this car with another of the X308s that is its virtual twin, which takes up to the 2003 model year and either an XJ8L or Vanden Plas because she wants the long wheelbase.

I think that nikasil disappeared as of model year 2000, but I have no idea when the various generations/versions of the timing chain tensioners made their debuts as problems were discovered. I have not had much luck as far as searching the forum because there was a flood of information regarding the timing chain tensioners over time and trying to sift through that is a daunting task.

If anyone knows when each generation came out and/or which model year each started being used for I would very much appreciate having that information to assist her with finding a replacement car where we don't have to tear things apart to take a look to determine what's actually in there.

Brian