I have been monitoring my expansion tank weekly as I noticed when cleaning the car a month ago that there was very faint residue of dried out coolant on the outside near the top.

I gassed-up the car last night and decided to take a look whilst the car was hot after a good run and to my horror there was a pretty good weep of coolant fluid running down the side of the tank, so obviously it is time to replace it. BTW the car has 52K miles and lives in the TX heat. I seems Jaguar can't design a decent tank, both of my '00 S-Type 4.0's needed new tanks at around 40K and my XJ6 needed a new one every 3 years!

I have 2 requests:-
1. Can anyone help me with step by step instructions for replacing the tank?
2. Can anyone point me to a source for the tank, the local dealer want $120+tax which seems to be a bit steep.

Thanks in advance

- Tim

 

Tim,

Check your pm.

 

That price seems more than suggested retail cost. www.Parts.com has it for $81.48 (They show dealer price as $109.)

 

To remove the tank, remove the upper radiator hose adn push it out of the way
, remove the vent hose from the tank, remove the screw holding the tank and twist the tank to free the two plastic tabs on the tank that fit into the radiator housing. Then remove the wire clip from the lower hose connector and pull the connector off. Remove the electrical connector for the tank sensor. Install the new tank in the reverse, remove the small vent screw on the tank and fill the system to normal, reinstall the vent screw and run the car until the thermostat opens, let it cool and top up the tank. Replacing the o-ring in the lower tank connector has been mentioned as being a good idea.

 

Update: Repair failed. Tank on order.

The weak point is the nipple that the vent tube attaches to. Mine broke off. I got a similiar nipple at the parts store, drilled out the hole to match, and attached with plastic repair epoxy. So far so good.

 

Doing the same right now--tight fit in there! That nipple is definitely a weak point.

 

Had the same problem with my '06 S Type, which has 45k miles on it in the Arizona Heat. I was able to buy an OEM tank from Autpartsway.com for $96, with free shipping. Placed the order on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, and had tank in hand on Wednesday. Pretty responsive given they were closed through the Monday holiday.

I was able to piece together the how to instructions in the Forums by searching for "S Type Coolant Tank Replacement".

I wrote down the steps I followed and cut and pasted the pictues other members provided into the attached document. Hope it helps.

 

All please note that the original post was December 2010

 

LOL. I am most answered it!

 

For posting the instructions Procedure to replace a 2006 Jaguar S Type Coolant Recovery Tank.docx

Ira

 

Thank you so much for posting! Worked exactly the same on my 2004 XJ8 Vanden Plas.

 

Steve,
Do you happen to have the instructions for replacing the coolant reservoir on a 2008 XJ8? I have a new tank. I just cannot figure out how to remove the hose located at the bottom of the tank. There is some kind of clip on it. I don't know if I need a special tool to remove the clip. Thanks.

 

is a special tool needed to remove the clip on the bottom hose?

 

Any small rod with a hook on the end will do I pulled the clip right off the plastic connection then refit clip once the header tank is out of the way when refitting make sure that it goes all the way on I did my header tank a couple of weeks ago and changed all the hoses it's a real mess of hoses below the header tank I'm sure they could have designed it better

 

rockytop,

Depending on the angle of access, a flat screwdriver may be easier to use to pull the wire clip outward. Note that it doesn't need to come all the way off the hose, just far enough that both of its ends reach their stops.

When you reconnect the hose, it helps to first push the wire clip back down. Then, when you push the hose onto its fitting, you will hear the clip click into place so you know it's reattached properly.

In case you haven't already done so, you can download the X350 Workshop Manual for free from this forum. It comes as a pdf file in six sections:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/md...f+contents.pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/aa...nformation.pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/n3...2.+Chassis.pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/9b...Powertrain.pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/0i...Electrical.pdf
http://www.mediafire.com/download/4j...+and+Paint.pdf

There are a lot of other helpful links and documents in the X350 'HOW TO' quick links thread near the top of the home page of this X350 forum.

Cheers,

Don

 

Don,
Thanks for the info. I was able to remove the clip Tuesday evening. While i was in the process of installing the new tank, the clip fell into the black abyss next to the radiator. I couldn't find it with a magnet. Wednesday, I went to the local Jaguar dealer in hopes of buying a couple of clips. The only way I could get the clip was to buy a new hose ($47), which had to be sent from a warehouse in Atlanta. I picked up the hose this morning (Thursday) and every thing is working as it should.

BTW, the hose I bought came with a clip on each end so I have a spare. Before I got back under the hood, I took a long piece of thread and tied it to the clip. I tied the other end of the thread to a metal line in the event I dropped the clip I could retrieve it.

Thanks again for your help.

Jack

 

I realize this is an ancient post, but it was super helpful to me today. Had the same issue with the nipple breaking off the tank on my 04 XJ8. Found a new tank on PartsGeek for about 60 bucks shipped. Got the whole job done in about 30 minutes. If you remove the engine cover and intake tube you can pull that troublesome clip out with a pair of long needle nose pliers. Super easy. Hope that helps somebody else. Thanks for the post, guys.

 

Mine broke too (2004) X type. I went straight to new tank. Only £20.00 on e bay.

 

The 1/4" brass fitting for coupling air lines, threaded in.
Would probably be a far better.
Much stronger fixture,for hose attachment than stock.
Still at best a pi-- poor design, if you ask me.

 

Particularly since the Temperature Gauge is pi-- poor too!