For a 2013 XF 3.0 SC
Seeing lots of threads about coolant leak, but have a few questions if anyone can help.

How can you find out if the coolant leak is from water pump or the coolant outlet flange? I was driving a few days ago and got a low coolant sign on the dash.

By my observation, when I just let it run, nothing leaks. When I drive with high RPM, I can smell some coolant on the engine, however can't see anything. When I clean the tray on the bottom, doesn't show up there right away, so I know the leak is coming from somewhere on the top portion of the engine.

Its super hard to see anything in these engines. So wondering if a dye or anything else I can do that would help. Was told by a repair shop that pressure test doesn't go past 15psi (supposedly spec is 20psi)

The repair shop told me its with this bulletin,

https://testing-public.carmd.com/Tsb...3/JTB00566NAS4

​​​​​​​But want to be sure, before spending 2000$ USD.

​​​​​​​Thanks again in advance all!

 

The first thing to check is do you actually have a coolant leak or do you instead have a dodgy coolant level sensor and no leak?
Look at the side of the coolant expansion tank / reservoir, can you see any drop in the coolant level from one day to the next?
If it has or does drop below the "min" marking then you probably have a leak, if no drop then you probably have a dodgy sensor.
The sensor is a float and sometimes it stops floating and instead sinks to the bottom, triggering the "low coolant" message on the dash.
Some have fixed this by fishing the sensor out and adding an extra float on the under-side of it, such as the foam ring on the top of a stack of CDs/DVDs.
Others have replaced the whole expansion tank, not a huge job.
If you really do have a leak then start with the simple culprits:
1. The cap on the expansion tank / reservoir can go dodgy and allow coolant under pressure to escape, so check it. Does it click at least twice and preferably three times when you tighten it right up? If not replace it with a new one.
2. The two thin expansion tank coolant lines across the top/front of the engine can become very brittle with age and crack/split - this has happened to me. Run the engine and gently wiggle them near where they terminate on/near the large cross-over pipe, you may find one or both are leaking.
3. Have a close look at that cross-over pipe while the engine is running, especially along the seam/join, you might spot some coolant slowly seeping out.

 

Thank you sir for the response. The only place I see coolant is around the belt area. None around the tank, to indicate it may have spilled out of there. Attached is the picture where I see the most of it, but I have never seen an active leak when its just running on idle.

Also for the cross over pipe, youre referring to the pipe thats on top of the engine in the picture correct? DO I really need to remove the super charger to replace that? It seems like the bolts are easily accessible unlike what it says in the bulletin I referenced before.

Thanks again!