Last time I replaced the water pump in 2017, there was only the OEM and URO options at vastly different price points. Hoping the 9th iteration would be the charm, I installed Jaguar's latest part number that was introduced about that time. Its still the same part number today so I guess they've given up. I went by the dealer today and checked to see if there had been any updates and they were unaware of any. It appears now there are aftermarket branded pumps sold by Beck Arnley, GMB and US Motor Works as well as some parts store brands like Autozone's Duralast. Back in the X308 days, the 98-99 models came from the factory with plastic impellers that disintegrated rather quickly and the aftermarket came to the rescue with metal impeller blades. Similarly I had a GM truck once upon a time that had a squeaky steering and for at least ten model years, GM made squeaking steering shafts that had to actually be removed to be greased periodically. Again the aftermarket came to the rescue and offered an improved part that didn't squeak and didn't have to be greased. What are the chances? Has anyone yet installed one of these aftermarket branded water pumps? Able to see any physical difference compared to the factory unit? Know any facts or even "claims" from the seller related to solving Jaguar engineer's mental block? Have any "long-term" reliability reports? Sadly, it's time for another water pump so checking to see what the latest options are.

 

I just replaced ours, and it was OEM but Italian sourced - no "FOMOCO" anywhere on it. I have heard these (7th iteration?) pumps with the redesigned pair of coolant hoses which need to go with it (which the online Jag parts manual says is the wrong part.....sigh) supposedly has solved the pump issue.

 

GMB is a big name OEM manufacturer. Make pumps for a ton of car companies as OE

If you are worried aobut the pump's design. try getting yours rebuilt. Lots of rebuilders out there that can redesign the seats and uses better seals.

I think I talked to this guy RPM - Water Pump Rebuilding - Rebuilt Exchange about mine before i changed mine but there a lot out there, try calling around

 

Nope. BTDT.

Thanks. I've thought about stopping in to talk to a local rebuilder down the street from the Jaguar dealer. I've had them do water pumps for my classic cars because of trying to preserve date codes but then I've had to have them do one over again too because they put it back together wrong so I hesitated to do that.

 

And you used the two revised hoses with the change in feed to the water pump bleed port?

 

Yes, two pumps ago.

Also stopped by the local water pump rebuilder's shop today but they were unfamiliar with the Jaguar AJ133 water pump and did not want to mess with it but it was a good thought anyway.

 

The guy at the sop I mentioned online new what seals they used. He said send it in and he' give it a look

It's still in my garage, I bought a newest version new on ebay for $ 125 so I let it sit. If you want I can call the guy up and send it off to him and see what he says and send him my pump for a look see. Let me know, I was interested just not needing it now

 

I got around to tinkering with it for a little bit late today finally and found that the valley was full of coolant so I've also got a leak behind the pump, probably the dreaded plastic crossover pipe. However, the water pump is also most definitely bad. Took the belt off and found that I could actually wiggle the water pump pulley - not good. But when I was watching it run a week ago when I pulled over right after I heard the squealing, I could see the belt tensioner bouncing, kind of like a tire going over random potholes so I intended to investigate that too. Both seem to turn smoothly enough, but it got me to thinking, maybe Jaguar's chronic water pump problem doesn't have anything to do with the shaft seal itself. Maybe it has something to do with the drive belt system? Tensioner too tight? Too loose? Bad belt that doesn't run true? One of the other idler pulleys snagging? I've always assumed that the seal was going first and then washing out the grease from the bearing, but perhaps its the other way round. I'm not a mechanical engineer, but it seems logical that if the bearing wore out and got loose from some kind of drive belt issue, the seal would fail soon after. I'm thinking to replace all that drive belt stuff.

If you've ever worked on an old Chevy small block, you know the water pumps have a longist snout and there is a massive bearing inside, a full 2 1/8" long. I haven't disassembled the Jaguar water pump, but from the looks of it, the bearing inside couldn't be more than half the size of the bearing in an old Chevy water pump. Jaguar probably should have just made a longer snout with a stouter bearing. Maybe that RPM shop could find a different bearing made from better materials or a better design with the same dimensions as well as a better seal.

I'm thinking its time for the "THE BIG PLASTIC REPLACEMENT" anyway so it may be off the road for a while. If you would like to investigate, I could hold off ordering a new pump. I was going to first order an adapter so I could pressurize the system and confirm where the second leak was coming from before I take it further apart. It's been kind of nice driving the old XJ8 in the meantime.

 

When my water pump went the galley was wet all the way back to the rear even though everything was ok back there but I already had the S/C off so I did the replacement

 

Finally got a pressure test cap and checked it today. Its leaking out the little plastic tube C2Z18658 on the back of the water pump, not the crossover pipe. Its not clear that it was leaking out the front seal, but it was squealing and I can wobble the pulley so I'll replace the pump anyway. Now I'm debating whether to go ahead and do the "big plastic" now as its just over 50K miles. (The logical part of me says just trade it in and let somebody else do this job every 15K miles.)

 

Doing all the pipes in the back at the sme time as the pump does not save you any time. When you do the pump you can do all the plastics up front no problem

Doing the rear is a guess about whether and when it might all go so that's a choice to make there

 

I made the mistake of doing everything one at a time, not sure why, but I did. First replaced the front crossover pipe and thermostat. Then the water pump failed. Not long after the radiator started leaking. Then the rear crossover pipe seam started leaking and finally the oil cooler pipe and hose on the front of the pump started leaking. That was 3 times removing the super charger and replacing all of the seals over a 12 month period.

 

Water pump has been replaced with an aftermarket unit since the Jaguar units have proven to be lousy. Surely the aftermarket units can't be worse. And you can get a "lifetime" warranty on the Autozone one or for $13, a three year warranty if you order one on Amazon. Its still not back on the road tho.

I started the "big plastic" and also went through the process of cleaning the intake valves while the manifold is off. They were pretty gooey, at least the ones at the front of the motor nearest the pcv ports. This really is a miserable job, mainly because of how difficult it is to reach. Even if someone were 6' 7" tall, I think it would be difficult, but I'm short. I'm accustomed to classic muscle cars which are much narrower and you could reach the back of the motor by leaning over the fenders from the sides. The XF engine bay is as wide as it is deep. I spent the first weekend rigging up a platform I could lay across just so I could see what I was doing to clean those rearmost intake valves. I also made up a special vacuum to suck the muck out. I didn't want to suck carb cleaner through my shop vac, so I happened to have one of those cheap $15 bernoulli vacuum pumps from Harbor Freight (which BTW is pretty useless for evacuating an A/C system) and rigged it up to suck into a jar. Worked just like the aspirator at your dentist's office and all from stuff I had lying around. So at least that was a success.

Then I ordered and waited for a selection of tools that I thought might be able to undo those stupid torx screws on the rear crossover tube. Another case where the Jaguar engineer who spec'd those type fasteners for that location should have been fired. I've purchased hex head cap screws and washers to put it back on with. That way the next poor bugger who has to replace the plastic again at 100K miles (which ain't gonna be me) can use a regular 1/4" drive deep socket and the screw will just ride up in the socket while the ratchet mechanism stays put, far enough from the firewall and where you can get a few degrees of swing arc.

It was definitely due for plastic replacement as the front crossover pipe literally came apart when I pulled it out. Probably a whole bunch of engineers need to be fired for spec'ing PA66 nylon for use with a chemical which in fact dissolves PA66 nylon when superheated. Its taking a while because between other commitments, household chores and making a living, I can only manage a few hours a weekend. Mostly driving my pickup the last month but have enjoyed bringing the XJ8 out of retirement for several nice Fall weather days. The XF will be back on the road before Thanksgiving tho.