Just bought my 05 XJR a few days ago, starting to dig into it a bit.

One of the first issues I noticed is prominent coolant smell near the coolant reservoir tank at the RH side of the car. I see no drips or stains of coolant anywhere.
The car is in good shape overall, 73k miles on it, no signs of abuse.

Any ideas?

 

Hey ST welcome to the forum. You've only had the car a few days so I assume if the seller was dubious, he could have topped off the coolant.

Coolant leaks are common on these cars.

Here is a search:
Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum - Search Results

The leaks can be pinhole sized. UV dye and a pressure tester form your local auto parts store is the best way to find it. Pressure test at the reservoir @ no higher than 14.2 psi.

Also if you can get ahold of the history, it may have been fixed before and the coolant is left soaking in the undertray. The smell can linger for a year.

Try the pressure check first. Best of luck.

 

Your search link came up with no results

I was hoping to find out the common areas so I can look more closely into them. .

 

Another issue I have is It appears the car has been filled with green coolant.. I read some scary stories about how orange/pink and green dont mix well.


I have no idea if this car has been flushed out or not.. Is green acceptable to use on these cars? What's everyone running?
Im concerned about clogging my heater core.. if it isnt already :x

 

Green coolant is fine as long as the system was completely flushed and all Dexcool removed. Just note, it is not the Manufacturer's recommended coolant and if you decide to go back to Dexcool, you must completely flush all of the ethanol coolant.

Next, It's easy enough to see is your core is clogged with a $20 Infrared thermometer. Let the engine warm to operating temp and turn your heat on high. Point your IR thermometer at the vent on the drivers side. Then do the same on the passenger side. If you're within 1 or 2 degrees, your fine.

Nothing else from my original comments changes. Use a pressure tester and UV dye to test for leaks. Remove the under tray and check it (night is best). You can search every related thread, pressure testing with UV dye is the proper procedure.

Sorry, not sure what happened to the search but from the X350 page, enter coolant leak in the search box (see pic). You will get a lot of not relevant stuff but the titles will give you a clue.

 

Hey Shawn,
Thanks for the suggestion, Ive been searchign alot of topics today, here are a few things Im going to check:

-Thermostat housing
-Lower connection on coolant overflow (no visible leaks on top connections)
-Auxiliary cooling pump (both heater and SC)

I have every intention of doing a proper flush with the correct coolant. Hopefully I can find the leak in the mean time.

 

My car smells like coolant after it's been run. You can smell it when walking past the front of the car or open the hood. I'm not losing any coolant that I can tell so I just have my fingers crossed. There are some known leak spots but if the coolant level isn't dropping (keep an eye on it from day to day for at least a week, but always when fully cooled down or cold) you might be able to get away with just monitoring the issue for now. A leak test is by far the best way to diagnose the problem.

 

I considered this point yesterday; The level in the reservoir isnt changing much (if at all)
I am checking daily to see if i am actually losing a noticeable amount.

 

My car does as well. You do not need much coolant at all, such as a pin hole leak produces, to be able to smell it when hot.

My leak was at the overflow from the coolant reservoir which is apparently common because sometimes the outlet tube cracks.

I replaced the reservoir recently even tho I could not see a crack and I still get a slight leak there.

First time I could see that the bleed screw was not in tight so tightened it.

Still getting the leak but it appears to be the rubber hose which I had cut back before so have ordered a new rubber hose now.

Question.... what type of hose clips do you have on your car stham the OEM clips?

Only ask because if the previous owner used the jubilee clips that could be a problem as DonB has posted before.

 

Factory clips still on mine.
I looked closely around the reservoir, and i see no sign of leakage anywhere.
For the overflow tank, is it possible the top black half and bottom translucent half can separate at the seam? I wonder if its seeping through there.
If coolant was leaking, it would undoubtedly leave a small stain no matter how small it is... I just cant find any stains yet.

 

I have never heard of the coolant tank separating like that.

I agree that where coolant leaks it should leave a stain no matter how small.

One thing you could try, although it is a pain, is remove the underbody shield and see if there are any signs of coolant stains on it.

That shield can hold coolant long enough to dry without dripping onto the ground with small leaks but would still be stained.

 

Mine has OEM factory clips. I have no staining, just smell. I bought DexCOOL compatible dye from the local GM dealership, I'm gonna try that soon.

 

I haven't heard of a seam separating on an X350 coolant reservoir, but that doesn't mean someone isn't going to be the first to have it happen. A friend's Chrysler van just suffered this problem with a separated seam and we found it by pressure-testing the system as Sean has recommended.

Our '04 XJR developed a pinhole leak in one of the hoses in the tangled nest under the reservoir. I had UV dye on my shopping list but found the leak by waiting till dark and shining a flashlight up underneath while the engine was running. The spray from the pinhole was only visible when the flashlight beam highlighted it. The mist of coolant was immediately dissipating in the flow of the radiator fan and not leaving a telltale stain, which had made locating the leak more difficult.

Cheers,

Don

 

Just thought I'd give an update.
Ive had the car 2 weeks now, and it doesnt appear to be losing coolant. I guess the smell is normal! I will say the smell is much less than it was since I bought the car.

Now I just need to flush the system out/install new thermostat.

 

does your car have rear climate control----if it does then it may be leaking there-------I started a thread about it ---hope to have pics up on what I did --also the engine has a hose prone to leaking under intake manifold /supercharger look in the s-type/ for lots of info

 

You'll want to drop the under tray when you do that and make sure you get all excess coolant cleaned up when you put t back together. Also wash the under tray. Dexcool has a strong odor that can linger for a year, even in small amounts. It'll drive you nuts smelling it every time you walk past the engine.

 

Prestone manufactures a coolant that can be used in all vehicles. There is a GM version known as Dexcool which has a red dye and another version that is green, the all vehicle version, that is green. I believe both would be acceptable in your Jag.

My coolant overflow tank was replaced at less than 50,000 miles when the car was about 4 years old. There are reports that the coolant pumps for the heating system can leak.

I also had to replace one radiator hose that had a slow leak under pressure.

RyeJag

 

It is really important to check your Owner's Manual or research Jaguar literature appropriate for your car's VIN to determine the correct coolant to use. If I'm not mistaken, in most X350s the original coolant was orange-colored propylene glycol (PG) coolant conforming to Ford specification WSS-M97B44-D, and the corrosion inhibitors are based on Organic Acid Technology (OAT). GM Dex-Cool is probably the most widely-available brand in the U.S. that conforms to the WSS-M97B44-D spec. Jaguar and many other automakers caution against mixing coolant types, so the use of "universal" coolants may be risky.

The corrosion inhibitors in traditional ethylene glycol (EG) "green" coolants are based on Inorganic Acid Technology (IAT).

The inhibitors in Zerex G-05 blue/clear PG coolant are based on Hybrid Organic Acid Technology (HOAT).

The most widely-reported caution is that mixing coolant types can result in the incompatible inhibitors forming a sludge or gel that clogs narrower passages in the cooling system (and not just the small pipes in the heater core).

Another issue is that OAT and HOAT coolants do not control electrolysis in cooling systems made of more than one metal (especially when one of them is brass), and they do not protect steel water pump impellers from electrolysis or cavitation erosion, which is why plastic impellers were introduced with OAT coolants in the S-Types and X350s.

New formulations of OAT and HOAT coolants continue to be developed, and some "universal" formulations are claimed to be compatible with other coolants. But since many automakers state in their technical literature that IAT should not be mixed with OAT or HOAT, and OAT and HOAT should not be mixed together, the safest route is to use the coolant specified by Jaguar for your model and VIN and do not risk your engine on the marketing claims of Prestone or any other third-party coolant maker.

Cheers,

Don

 

When I replaced my water pump, not long ago, the new one had a metal impeller.

So something to worry about?

 

I don't know how much of a concern that is. Obviously Jaguar used pumps with plastic impellers for a reason and are now on their third generation of plastic to overcome problems with the earlier plastics (especially Nylon 66). According to what I've read, the corrosion inhibitors in OAT coolants have the advantage of being effective for a long time, but they don't protect against electrolysis that occurs between dissimilar metals like aluminum and steel in the presence of an electrolyte. Apparently brass is the worst culprit, so we should all avoid using thermostats with brass frames.

From my research I had come to believe that Airtex/Wells is the OEM of the Jaguar pumps, and this has been confirmed by Jim Lombardi on the X308 forum. The same pump was used from the X100/X308 to the 2010 XF, and also on the Lincoln LS and Ford Thunderbird. Airtex/Wells model AW4124 is the pump Jaguar currently supplies as a replacement and it is available from Rock Auto for less than $33.00. Here are some of my posts on these topics:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...8/#post1618854
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...1/#post1303811
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...3/#post1614731
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...0/#post1601801

Cheers,

Don