My 04 XJR - vin 18526 decided to spew coolant this morning, fortunately it was close to home so was able to make it back. I assume it is the water pump (noise and visual - though tough b/c of SC).

As I plan to fix the car, I have searched threads on the subject and come away somewhat confused about the following:
Does the 04 XJR have the plastic T-stat housing or metal? If plastic where can I source metal?
Is the original water pump metal or plastic impeller? Is metal preferred or will plastic do fine?

Any recommendations on the R&R process for the XJR, looks like a real challenge from the top b/c of the S/C, what should be removed, is removal from the bottom better?

THX
Franck

 

Your car has the plastic T-stat housing. There is not a metal alternative in the aftermarket, the ones you see are through 2003 (U.S.) or 2002 (Europe) x308 only. There are aftermarket black plastic ones for the x350 as well as OEM Jaguar - the latter include the coolant temp sensor.

I have done the r&r on a 2004, but ours is not supercharged. Air cleaner and piping comes out, mass air sensor comes out, throttlebody (careful with the coolant lines/EGR stuff, think I left EGR connected and just moved it out of the way) comes out, coolant reservour comes out then its pretty easy to get to. Some of the intake tract had to come out, that was the trickiest part, one of the studs was an eigth turn at a time with an open end, pick up an 8 mm speedracheting wrench before you start.

 

I have just done the dreaded under-the-supercharger hose replacement and can say with some confidence that replacing the water pump is much less difficult than you might think from the top. Yes, there are several pieces that must be pulled to gain access, but that's nothing to awkward.

The most intimidating piece is the water housing/snake that runs above the S/C neck, and that's only held in place with four (4) Torx screws. In fact, three Torx drivers, 8mm 10mm and 13mm sockets and ratchets, clamp pliers, regular pliers, 1/3 and 3/8 breaker bar, torque wrench, and a set of screwdrivers account for all the tools I used to completely strip off and reassemble the top of the engine, S/C included.

My thermostat housing is metal as are all of the other related parts. My pump was replaced at the dealer some time back (previous owner) so I don't know about the original impeller, but the one currently in my car is plastic and seems to work fine.

Have fun.

 

Thanks for the information, planning to do the job this weekend. Just to confirm, the S/C has to come out? Should I considering replacing the "dreaded hose" while there? Not which it is do you have a part #?

 

If all you are replacing is the water pump, all you'll pull are coolant reservoir, hoses, belts and the coolant 'spider'. No need to go any deeper.

Advice for the belts? The S/C belt uses a 1/2 drive breaker bar. I keep an old school torque wrench for exactly such a time. The accessory belt uses 3/8. Ditto the torque wrench but with a 3/8 adapter. Both slacken simply by inserting the tool into the hold on the front of the tensioner arm. While slack, slip each belt off the highest (easiest to reach) pulley and push it out of the way.

Other things to be careful of would include:

1. The hose clip, yes clip, that secured the fitting under the reservoir. Be careful to not drop it as it may be difficult to locate if it doesn't drop all the way to the pavement.
2. Torque specifications. As everything is aluminum, it is very east to over-tighten when reassembling. Keep a good torque wrench handy.
3. The coolant level plug on the bottom of the reservoir appears delicate. It hasn't created any problems for me (so far) but does look like it could be easily broken.

Hope this helps.

Bob

Liberty MO

 

Did you work on it this weekend? Any pics you want to share? My waterpump appears to be leaking at the gasket. Supposedly the PO replaced the pump within the past year. I'm thinking of trying to just put on a new gasket, but if it's a lot of work to get to it, I'll spend the money and buy a new pump to not have to do the job 2x.