Tonight I had to sit about ten minutes for a train to go by. The engine coolant is low light came on, (it comes on occasionally for no reason, [I check the level and it's ok], so I thought nothing of it), about two miles down the road, the car sounded funny and the temperature gauge went to the top. I pulled over to let her cool down. I haven't opened the radiator cap yet, to see how much fluid was lost, but there was a small amount of spray under the hood.

Exactly two months ago today, I did a radiator flush and added new coolant.

What would cause this over heating? Could it be the thermostat?

2008 XJ8 L 45,000 miles

 

First advice is to never ignore low coolant warnings. OK, you did check the level and it seemed OK, but these things never come on for no reason at all. The overheating you recently had could well be the thermostat not opening. This would cause overheating, but it's clear the matter needs some investigation.


FWIW, the coolant header tank eventually does start to leak from the small diameter top hose connection. The nipple gradually cracks all the way round and small amounts of coolant leak out, and eventually, you get a 'Low Coolant' warning as I did. However with mine, (a V6), the main leak was a connection on a coolant pipe; your V8 doesn't have this, but during the fix, the mechanic found the tank nipple was also leaking. When the light first came on, I had just started the car, so immediately checked and, yes coolant was low but not by much.

 

What coolant did you use when you did the flush and fill?

 

Dex Cool

 

I am sure you knew where I was going with my question.

The color of those splashes in your pic looked "odd" to me.

What mileage do you have on your car?

 

45,000 miles. I found the problem, no that it's day light. A small hose ruptured.

 

This small house has a crack in it. Are the numbers on it, the part number? I'm not sure how long it is, because the other end goes down towards the ground. I'm going to have to pull some things out of the way to replace it.

 

I do not think those numbers are part numbers.

Look up a Jaguar parts place and look for a radiator hose type parts diagram for you model and year and you should be able to find a part #.

Then I would suggest going on Ebay and looking for that part #.

You will find a wide range of prices for the same part. Choose a vendor with a high ranking.

If you are in a hurry then you will have to go to a Jaguar dealer and hope they have it in stock but you will likely pay a high price.