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My radiator inlet flange sheared off, causing the hose to disconnect, any my Jag pee'd on the floor of the local SMOG station.
The plastic inlet still has about 1.5 inches so the hose can still attach, but without the flange, there is nothing for the hose and quick clamp to grab onto. I could probably jerry rig it with a screw type hose clamp, but since its a plastic inlet, I need to be careful with the amount of pressure I tighten the clamp with, and it would be totally temporary. Who knows how much longer the plastic will last before it crumbles away as well.
So the easy fix is to just replace the radiator. But since that's a pretty big job, wanted to get recommendations on anything else I should replace? I was thinking hoses, thermostat, water pump. The Lady is a 2005 XJ8L with 169k miles. One quote I got was $4700 ($2700 for radiator, $1000 for thermostat, $1000 for water pump), and that there is no common labor between the 3. That seems weird, so wanted to get your opinions.
She is in great condition otherwise, so it would be a shame do to anything less than to get her back in top running shape.
If the inlet flange is crumbling away then most likely the radiator will have to be replaced sooner or later. The question is if you want to risk being stranded when it is time.
In relation to your quote, it seems like wherever you took it to does not want to do the job. 1k for a thermostat is highway robbery. Same for the WP. In fact, it should all be cheaper since the rad is coming out and it would give the tech more room and thus take less time.
Having done all the work you have listed myself I can say the WP and the thermostat are super easy. If you were doing the rad at the same time then even easier. Only drain the system once, disconnect all the hoses once, and so on. However, the radiator is a huge pain to get to. It is bolted onto the AC condenser and the SC radiator. So you have to get all that connected together to get everything else to go back in correctly. The front of the engine has a lot of stuff that likes to get in the way and it can be frustrating to work by touch.
If you are not interested in doing it yourself, I would definitely shop around.
That quote is beyond steep, bordering on absurd. I bought the thermostat housing with new thermostat and temp sensor for $125, several hoses for $65 and both the tensioner w/pulley and the idler pulley, plus a new serpentine belt all for around $100. The radiator is not expensive, but a a bit labor intensive to get out and replaced. None of this work is difficult, with the radiator being the biggest pain, but certainly not prohibitive. $4700 would be closer to $500-600 MAX and a weekend project. There are video and DIY write ups for all of it, if your willing to take care of the job. Else, you better shop around, LOL!
Radiator plastic brittleness with age is a known problem (you can search this forum). Fixing this sooner rather than later will save you headaches down the road. $4,700 is way too high. I've done the water pump and T-stat myself. Well within the capabilities of someone who knows how to use a wrench, has access to tools, a workshop manual, and doesn't mind getting dirty.
As artic_man and Blairware state the radiator is labor intensive requiring patience and creativity. I paid to have mine replaced and it was ~$500 + parts. In my case the condenser line was pinched tight around the 'header' tank on the driver's side. We ended up removing and recharging refrigerant for the A/C. Some additional cost if you have to go this route. Others on the forum have been able to do it without breaking the A/C line.
I'm in Dallas, TX and there are many competent mechanics willing to do this work. If you're comfortable sharing your location some forum member may be able to recommend a mechanic.
Sorry to hear about your problem. My older X300 had a similar problem. The radiator inlet broke off a little at a time and the hose would pop off occasionally. Since I don't use the car for daily transportation and I was aware of the problem, I would stop immediately, I carried coolant on the trunk. Cool down, reattach hose, refill. Not a practical course of action for a car used for actual transportation.I needed to replace the radiator with a used one. A new replacement was priced at 750.00 at my local auto parts store, RockAuto had one for 400.00. I found a good used radiator at a local Pick and Pull for 50.00. I've got several other problems with my car so I didn't want to invest in a brand new radiator at this time. If my car was in better overall shape and I was definitely going to keep it I would invest in the new parts. Your supercharged V8 car is liable to destroy the motor if it overheats.
About twenty years ago I had two replacement radiators installed in my NorthStar Cadillac. They were bout a grand apiece. I had the shop replace the radiator hoses also. When I received the bill I was looking through the listed charges. and saw that hose removal was charged twice, one for the radiator removal and another time for the hose replacement! After a discussion the bill was adjusted. Shop around, that estimate looks overly expensive. Good luck.
1. Unfortunately (or fortunately) it is not a Supercharged XJ, its just the normally aspirated XJ8L V8.
2. I always get a quote from the dealer, just as a baseline. In this case, the $4700 was from them. Sorry, its just my systematic way of getting all the info. I think a local shop would be about $1k
3. I was in the process of selling the car, and getting the required SMOG (in California) to finish the transfer, when this happened. I'm now torn between the minimal fix to sell the car in good working condition vs sell the car in the condition that I would want a keeper car to be in. So I could easily get an independent British shop to just change the radiator, and get rid of the car, but it just seems like if I were keeping the car, I would do the extras, just because it is at 169k, and everything is already opened up. It just seems wrong to just do the radiator and sell the car, but I guess thats why I'm really not a business man.
Just in case anyone is wondering, I'm going to look into DIY.
Radiator Prices (thoughts on whether there is a quality difference between brands?)
Mahle/Behr - $225
Nissens - $210
Jaguar - $375
Here are a couple of youtube videos I've been watching to determine if its something I want to tackle, both are really well done.
[You could go to an exhaust shop get a piece scrap stainless exhaust pipe that's smaller in diameter expand it with their machine inside the broken pipe this will give reinforcing for the screw clamp it's a temporary fix because if the radiator is brittle the hoses must be on their way as well
If your doing WP and T,stat and radiator
I'd be doing the hoses at the same time and look at adding a conditioner for the system
Just an idea
QUOTE=sixpackd;2299307]Hello,
My radiator inlet flange sheared off, causing the hose to disconnect, any my Jag pee'd on the floor of the local SMOG station.
The plastic inlet still has about 1.5 inches so the hose can still attach, but without the flange, there is nothing for the hose and quick clamp to grab onto. I could probably jerry rig it with a screw type hose clamp, but since its a plastic inlet, I need to be careful with the amount of pressure I tighten the clamp with, and it would be totally temporary. Who knows how much longer the plastic will last before it crumbles away as well.
So the easy fix is to just replace the radiator. But since that's a pretty big job, wanted to get recommendations on anything else I should replace? I was thinking hoses, thermostat, water pump. The Lady is a 2005 XJ8L with 169k miles. One quote I got was $4700 ($2700 for radiator, $1000 for thermostat, $1000 for water pump), and that there is no common labor between the 3. That seems weird, so wanted to get your opinions.
She is in great condition otherwise, so it would be a shame do to anything less than to get her back in top running shape.
10-06-2020, 08:54 AM
Radiator inlet flange sheared off, recommendations?
