Good morning. I had my water pump replaced
over 4 months ago at dealership and have brought it back twice the first time it needed additional repair to
stop the steam from pouring out of the hood and it did stop but not the smell so I drove it for over a month to be sure all the possible runoff had evaporated from the engine completely but still had that funny smell off and on so I brought it back
they then did pressure test both hot and cold and said nothing was wrong. Well I still get that hot engine antifreeze smell off and on and need some help and direction as to what to do next
i have owned Jaguars for the past 25 years so I know they are quirky but this is annoying and I would like to see it resolved. Many thanks for any and all help anyone can share .

 

Do you need to add coolant to the reservoir?

 

Hopefully, the repair shop used the correct coolant/antifreeze, Pentofrost SF, which is pink in color. I discovered recently that this product does not have the distinctive "coolant smell" that I associated with Prestone or Xerex antifreeze of yesteryear. What I thought was coolant odor turned out to be field mice in the engine compartment. Some mousetraps in the garage "fixed" the "coolant smell".

 

Do you know if the engine overheated? These engines do not handle overheating well, if your replaced water pump failed in a way that resulted in overheating and engine damage, you might not want to trust your original dealer to further diagnose this issue. They have a very strong incentive to not find any issues as they would be liable to address them.

 

I would start considering engine damage in the presence of other symptoms :

Mysterious coolant loss with no apparent leaks
Overheating problems
Rough running
Oil in coolant
Coolant in oil

If these symptoms aren't present, the most likely cause is either a very slight leak somewhere, or just the normal slight smell as the coolant system can vent some gas as part of the normal cooling/heating cycle.

The tests that could be done are :

Cooling system pressure test (already done)
Test for combustion gases in coolant (probably the next thing to do as it's easy and cheap)
Leakdown test
Compression test
Examine spark plugs
Look at exhaust - more vapour from one than the other?

 

Maria
Sorry to hear of your concerns regarding the engine cooling system on your XJ.
Can you tell us what engine variant you have, eg: Diesel, Aspirated, Supercharged etc.

Just at face value if you do happen to have a Supercharged XJ, while noting a water pump change as needed or preventative maintenance is a positive thing, there are many other cooling lines on Supercharged versions which also are prone to minor drips and need to be on a maintenance list too, and I could not possibly say for certain that a pressure test will reveal any leak, as this really depends on the honesty of the persons performing the test, and their perceived acceptance of "within range" it could be a cooling line under the supercharger known to fail or any of the adjoining intercooler connections. If that is the case, your technician may not want to remove your supercharger in order to repair a coolant line, or they may simply not be aware that such a coolant line exists depending on the mechanical experience with these engines of those in question.

If you can upload a pic of the service report and works undertaken or just write it up for us and let us know which engine you have so that those familiar may assist you.

Regards
B.

 

Biggest thing is are you losing coolant?
If not then I would continue driving as it will go away after awhile. As you said it is common for the anti-freeze smell to linger.
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I was wrong, the correct coolant is Dexcool, orange in color.

I read elsewhere on this excellent forum that "engine smell" is normal in these cars; something about cooling system venting taking place. With my mice long gone and the lingering odor, I finally found a tech with sufficient Jaguar experience to sniff my hot engine compartment. He pronounced it normal, but I still find it unnerving. At least it doesn't enter the cabin.

 

Glad you reported back as I always think I am smelling something when the engine is hot and recently turned off in my garage.
But it must be a normal hot engine smell.
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