I bought the car a month ago. I know the oil was changed and I'm planning on doing the trans and brake fluid changes myself soon. The car only has 33K on it but is an '04. No previous service records other than carfax which showed nothing important. My question is, can I check the condition of the coolant to see if it needs changing too, or should I just spend the cash and go ahead and change it? It is bright orange and looks new but I know that means nothing. I'm leaning toward changing it with the required Dexcool so I know where I stand. Sound like a reasonable course of action?

 

Change it,then you know it's new and have a good base line for future service intervals

 

+1

Coolant testers are inexpensive but I always change all the fluids on a new (to me) Jaguar. This gives confidence that anything previously overlooked has then been done and acts as a baseline for future scheduled maintenance.

Graham

 

There is a bit more to checking coolant than just checking its gravity. Gravity will give you a rough idea of ratio of coolant to water. Just as important is the age of the coolant. This can be tested by using test strips to check pH. Next you would need to check for electrolysis. This is done by using a DVOM with one probe in the coolant and the other grounded. If voltage is present, then you have mineral contamination, and in the end, corrosive issues. (use only distilled water) Also, samples can be sent for testing to see if oils and metallic minerals are present to determine if compression or seepage into the crankcase is happening.

Make sure you use OAT coolant, and in the US, Jaguar recommends Havoline Xtended Life and Ford sells this same mixture through the Motorcraft line. Obviously you could also buy dealer stock. Never use more than about 60% ratio of coolant to water.

 

If I were to replace the coolant (which I now plan to do), which of the above tests would still be necessary to be safe? I assume (dangerous, I know), ph and specific gravity would be non-issues if the proper ratio and distilled water are used. The test for electrolysis looks simple enough and I have a good DOVM. At what voltage should I be concerned? Any voltage at all? I assume the higher the voltage the worse the problem. I have had my oil analyzed numerous times on other cars, I have never checked the coolant though. That may be prudent before I spend much more money on this car. I will have to oil analyzed too once it gets some mileage on it. Thank you Box for your expertise.

 

It would be more time, money and trouble analyzing the coolant than it's worth, much like oil analysis. Change it as per schedule and you're all set.

 

Change the coolant every 5 years per dexcool (OATS) coolant. You are way overdue. As others have said, analysis means nothing at this point. Drain, flush, backflush and fill.

 

I didn't know if the dealer had changed it in his preparation for sale or if this is the original. He had changed the oil and done some brake work. I was looking for a way to find out, but the simplest way, it appears, is to just change it myself. Then I'll know where I stand.

 

The primary purpose of my suggestion of analysis isn't really age of the coolant, but to determine if combustion or crankcase or transmission contamination is present. To simply change the coolant wouldn't help you, if in fact, you had any of those.

 

Thanks Box. Not knowing if it has been changed recently, it could have only been in the car for a thousand miles, there probably isn't much sense in testing right now. I'm a frequent oil tester (especially my diesels), so I think testing is a good idea. I think I'll wait a few months and get some known miles on it, then test the coolant and decide whether to change or not then.

 

I don't know a dealer who would but you could simply call them and ask. I wouldn't expect they'd lie.

 

In the grand scheme of things, the price of coolant and distilled water isn't much. My point was there are numerous things to be checked. Your mileage may very...