2.0D Ingenium Timing Chain

The 2.0 Ingenium diesel found in Jaguar, Land Rover and Range Rover models, like many contemporary engines is driven by a pair of timing chains instead of a belt. The advantage of this is that a timing chain is designed to last the life of the vehicle whereas a belt is a service item that must be changed within set intervals to avoid failure. Given the importance of the timing system, this makes a conventional timing belt replacement an essential and sometimes very complicated job.

A timing chain setup is lubricated by the engine oil, meaning the oil must be regularly serviced to avoid damage to a chain driven system.

Normally regular oil changes matching the manufacturer specification should be enough to keep a timing chain system in good condition, however there are some underlying problems with the 2.0 Ingenium diesel that also cause timing chain failure.

The issues found on Ingenium engines are mainly down to materials used, the chains themselves are frequently known to stretch which initially will cause a rattling noise, these chains can also snap. A completely failed timing chain (one that no longer keeps the pistons and valves in sync with one another) will mean that the pistons with rise up and hit the valves, bending or breaking them and sometimes punching a hole in the pistons too. This is catastrophic engine damage and will realistically mean that a new engine needs to be sourced from JLR in order to get the vehicle running again, repair is simply not an economical option.

This is not the only failure mode of the Ingenium diesel either, the materials used on the plastic guides that the chains run along can also cause problems. As they wear over time, plastic particles from the guides can make their way into the engine oil pickup system blocking it over time, this can lead to spun crankshaft bearings causing a bottom end failure as well as some turbocharger failures due to insufficient lubrication. Unfortunately, large pieces of the guides can also break off too, causing other engine failures.

In 2019 Jaguar Land Rover revised the parts used in the timing system, including swapping in an uprated set of thicker timing chains greatly increasing durability of the system.

K Motors are very experienced with this issue and perform a full timing chain replacement consisting of both chains, all guides, idlers, tensioners and all seals using the revised genuine parts supplied by JLR.

Unfortunately, this was a global issue with the 2.0 Ingenium diesel and will affect all the models listed below (regardless of power output) up until 2019 when JLR addressed the issue.

If your Jaguar or Land Rover vehicle was manufactured before 2019, uses this engine and has not had the post 2019 remedial action taken, it is safe to assume that your vehicle could suffer from this point of failure, meaning there are two options that can be taken.

Option 1: You can continue regularly changing the oil and monitoring the engine closely so that at the first instance any timing noise is heard, it can be booked in for a timing chain replacement ASAP.

Option 2: The more cautious owner may choose to take proactive action and replace the timing chains, tensioners, idlers and guides before any noise is heard, greatly reducing the risk of failure in the future.

Unfortunately, timing chain replacement is a very in-depth procedure and requires a lot of parts and labour. K Motors will replace the timing chain on all 2.0 Ingenium models for £2141.