So I went to an indie shop that "specializes" in foreign cars.

Reviews were acceptable, so I decided to go there for my fluid flushes..

They have an online portfolio for customers and the mechanics put pictures up of parts used and work in progress on the vehicle.

I noticed that they had this up for antifreeze. (see attachment)

As far as I'm concerned the SF's are recommended my car, and not the NF.

Does anybody have any experience in using Pentosin? And upon looking online NF is blue and SF is pink? is this something to threaten my engine?

car has 95k, and maintained from each service up until my warranty expired.

-Thanks

 

The ONLY thing to worry about from a technical point of view is whether the fluid meets Jag's specification stated in the owner's manual.

 

The following makes for an interesting read
Posted by PLUMS

While trawling for information about coolants, I made an interesting discovery.

As most know, the Lincoln LS 3.9L V8 is a mechanical twin of the Jaguar V8.

So, off to the biggest Lincoln LS site to discover in their words that
blown head gaskets on the Lincoln LS V8 "are almost unheard of".
And it is confirmed when searching their forum and reading the
individual threads.

That seems to contradict what is found at JF.

The contradiction may have it's roots in the reason I landed there
for this research.

The Ford coolant application chart shows that all Lincoln LS engines
had either the Ford green non-longlife conventional coolant, or the
long life gold coolant specified as factory fill or service fill. The first
two years 2001-2002 were green and the remaining years to 2008
were the gold.

Dexcool or its relatives was never specified as either factory
fill or service fill.

On the other hand, Jaguar went to Dexcool in 1999. Prior to that
it was the Ford green, or gold depending on vin. The Dexcool
long life characteristic depends on the inclusion of 2-EHA. It is a
known plasticizer that attacks and dissolves silicone and
some plastics. See those seal and fire rings on the gaskets?

If the engine is the same and the gaskets are the same, but the
coolant is different it is reasonable to conclude that the coolant
is the deciding factor. Especially if the coolant has characteristics
that compromise gasket integrity.

If some reading this decides to change away from Dexcool as their
coolant, here are some considerations:

a) be very careful of buying green coolant by color. there are some
Dexcool clones out there that are colored green and sold as "universal"
coolant to the unwashed masses. There is no such thing as a universal coolant.
The Ford green, VC-5, is a safe bet. There is also a Ford "specialty" green. It's
a different coolant meant for their Mazda partnership engines. That's not the
right one.

b) the Ford gold is Zerex G-05, this is what I have used for 4 years. i may switch
to Ford green. the only difference is the addition of organic acid technology that
extends the life of the inhibitor package. 4 years is pushing it on the gold since
it is not factory fill, so changing the green every 3 years is not much harder and
gets rid of the organic acid technology.

b) changing coolant types requires a full and thorough flush to get
rid of all traces of the previous coolant. this is more difficult than you might
expect.

If you have had a head gasket failure on a Jaguar V8, it would be nice if
you noted the coolant type that was in service at the time.

Dexcool fanbois: ... it really does not matter that Jaguar points at Dexcool as the
approved coolant. They aren't about to pay for any blown head gaskets out of warranty.

If Jaguar had been able to look ahead in 1998 to today and seen the difference in
results between the Lincoln coolant choice and the Jaguar coolant choice, they might not
have specified Dexcool and stuck with the gold.

We *do* know that they changed to a metal shim gasket in 2001, without any major
changes to the engine. Makes one say hmmmm.
__________________
2001 X308 SC

 

If you change coolant type it is very important to completely flush out the old type before installing any of the new type. The two types are not just incompatible they react with each other and form deposits that can ruin your engine by interfering with coolant flows.

The two main types are the relatively short life "green" glycol coolants and the long life oxalic acid coolants usually coloured red or pink or orange. The former are short life because they need an additive package to counter the strong corrosive qualities of glycol. Those additives get consumed over time (NOT mileage) by design so regular flushing and replacement every two years is required.

The latter are long life and some types (VWAG for example) are good for at least 10 years before they need flushing or renewing. Some long life coolants (Pentosin blue for example) last only for 5 years. The long life coolants are not designed to be compatible with each other. When topping up use only water or the same spec coolant. Mixing coolants is a bad idea.

None of the approved coolants for our Jaguars will cause head gasket failure. Just use the Jaguar approved type and only replace it at the specified interval.