That looks right

 

Well after my hesitation/concern with the location of the loose hose, things are improving. Not fixed, but improving. Fuel trims are beginning to level out (still don’t know what they mean but I’m taking to heart that they’re the least of my problems until I get the leak sorted. I believe they’re a good indicia of something, though!)

I installed my new full load breather from SNG, and re-ran a smoke test. *Extremely* frustrated to find the new part also leaks. I believe the o-ring does not seal on the intake properly. The intake itself is not leaking. In fact, I could see no other discernible leaks. I imagine there are a few, but I’ve found the big ones.

My daily driver was (likely) totaled by a hit and run driver last night, so now there is a certain urgency to getting the Jag up to snuff. Am hopeful with the linear switch and *mostly* closed off leaks, she’ll be good for the bulk of what I need until I can get it into the mechanic at the end of the month for the full kit. Thanks for all the tips!

The breather hose I ordered from SNG was not OEM, so I bit the bullet and just ordered the expensive one. I believe that will probably not seal, either. I have seen one thread where someone rigged one of their own with some heater hosing. I don’t care for that but am open to suggestions if anyone else has run into a similar problem with still-leaking new hoses.

 

Touching base primarily to post the photos I just received from the detailer. It looks twice as good, in person.

My dual linear switch arrived - I will install it this weekend, but that’s mostly what’s left for my skill level. Having a strange phenomenon every now and then when I go to start it - key is in the ignition, goes through system check just fine with the key in the “on” position - then go for the final click to turn the engine over, and nothing. Turn the key back to off, then back to “on,” system check good, then it will turn over. No idea what that’s about. More of an irritant than a concern. But look at this thing!

 

B-E-A-uuutiful

 

November’s update: The Jag has been sitting for some time after I was greeted one morning by a “Low Coolant Level” warning upon startup. Looked underneath and there was a visible puddle - the tank was down about an inch and a half below the filler neck. Rather than fry the engine I just left her parked until I was able to get a sample of the coolant over to the dealership - having spent hours reading coolant threads the best I came up with was that it looked orange and not to mix it. The dealership couldn’t tell me offhand what it was but just topping it off wasn’t going to do me any good, anyhow. It had a leak and that’s beyond my skill level. Unfortunately the mechanic I wanted to work with isn’t getting back with me, so I had the dealer look at it. She’s leaking from the water pump, coolant overflow tank, overflow bypass hose and bleed pipe from coolant reservoir. So, I’m having all of that replaced, along with the thermostat, and spark plugs since it’s there. I’m also having another oil change done given it sat so long between the last and the one I had done about 1,500 miles ago. Never know what that might’ve flushed but I figure you can never over change your oil.

The dealer also informed that I need new front shocks because the boots are for naught and the lower bushings are shot. Rears are the same story, lower bushings are toast. They want $3,000 for the suspension work so I’ll shop that elsewhere.

In and out for the engine work is probably $3,000, but that should get it where it needs to be for the time being. Hoping the other mechanic calls me back to service the supercharger, but that’s what I can put into it, for now, in addition to what I’ve already done. Winter is here in Denver regardless so it’ll be light duty from now until April, am I’m hoping that’ll hold. I did get my plates in, finally. Excited to get them mounted once she’s back from the shop.

 

Another fated call from the dealership today - after opening the engine to replace the sparks and coils, they found that the sparks have oil in them. The cam cover on the right had side is missing "nutserts" and is leaking oil into the right-hand bank. Pictures below - after a quick phone call the dealer initially recommended replacing the valve cover gaskets but now believe they can get away with sealing them in a different manner. Time will tell on that front.

Separately, I called around to a few other jag specialists about the suspension. One of them was staggered the dealer was even willing to look at the car, let alone service it. They informed that for what the dealer was quoting, I should have them do the rears, as their an enormous PITA and the indy would charge me double what the dealer was offering. So, I'm having them (the dealer) do the rears. I ordered bilsteins for the front from Rock Auto - they were $108 a side rather than $370 OEM per side from SNG. I will do those, myself. God willing there are no more calls - in a way, though, I'm glad they found the problem before I got any notable misfiring. This car has 151,000 miles on the clock and I am hell-bent on this being a forever vehicle, so if this is what it takes, its what it takes. Mild to moderately disappointed the indy I was hoping to work with hasn't gotten back to me, though. I bought this car with the impression I would be able to avoid the dealer for most of the major stuff, but since they're the only ones talking with me presently, that's the way we'll do it. Can't complain, though - if I had a garage of my own I would try and figure out most of this on my own, so this is the price one pays for a premium on space, and for a commitment to keeping a living legend on the road. Onward!

 

Ah, so. My foray into XJR ownership continues. $6,700 later at the dealer, replacing cam covers, gaskets, hoses, overflow tanks, sparks, coils, and a coolant flush, I had her back on the road. The mysterious “turn the key, no start” condition disappeared entirely. I assume that must’ve been due to the oil pooling in the spark tubes.

Likewise, since I have not yet replaced the dual linear switch, the cold seems to have eliminated any occurrence of the “transmission fault” code. So, I am assume that’s probably a cable problem, given it only occurs under summer heat.

That’s the good news. The no good very bad terrible news is that I am, somehow, still losing coolant. Extremely frustrating given that this was the sole reason I brought it to the shop, in the first place.

Doubly complicated by the fact that there is no visible leak, anywhere. Before, I had pooling. Now, nothing, but the leak appears to be similarly severe. I put about a liter of 50/50 antifreeze in, this week, to top up. Maybe a bit less, but more than one should.

Of course, I have been doom scrolling, and everything seems to be pointing me to head gaskets. “Everything” meaning “all of the posts I can find on “mysterious coolant loss.” The oil is fine. No milky or frothy issues. The car is putting out white smoke, though not billowing, and it’s been sub-30°F here in Denver, so that’s of limited utility. I have huffed so much exhaust at this point it’s a miracle I’m still alive, but I couldn’t tell you for the life of me if it smells sweet. Probably shaved a few years off my time on earth with that. It is not overheating, either, and there is no loss of power or other concerns about engine operation.

I have ordered a new reservoir cap (on back-order at SNG, so ideally arriving mid-month), in the overoptimistic hope that’s part of my issue. In the interim, given the dealer replaced the coolant, I at least now have a part number to use for buying antifreeze to top up.

If it is, in fact, the head gaskets, I have no idea what to do with that. Cannot possibly get that done at the dealer, for what I imagine would be $10-$15,000. The local mechanic I was planning to work with still has not returned a call and his website is no longer live. Suboptimal.

I have also observed a leak at the part-load breather. The engine is dusty but I’m not certain it’s oil. Could it be coolant? If it’s coolant that would suggest to me it’s in the oil supply in which case I would be able to observe it either at the oil cap or dipstick, and, also, definitely confirm a head gasket issue. But again, no froth or consistency issues in the oil supply.

No idea, I’m stumped. I was hoping initially that it was just because the system wasn’t burped when refilling but the dealer informs they vacuum filled it. I did get bubbles (engine off, stone cold, and *bubbles*, not froth), when refilling the coolant the first time, which gave me hope. After a refill and about 80 miles of varied driving, the level fell about another 4/500 mL. So, I’ve topped it up once more, and she’ll be sitting until the cap arrives. If I switch the cap and she’s still losing level, I suppose I will give the coolant dye a try. From there, it’s back to some shop (ideally, not the dealer), to get whatever bad news may be lurking. If it’s massive, that may be the end of my thread, entirely, as I’m going to Thelma and Louise it if this is a five figure bill.

 

Oof that sucks, but I also battled several coolant leaks. First question is did you do the correct bleeding procedure that comes from the workshop manual? Or did the dealer?

Also, can you do a pressure test to see if you can find leaks?

I wouldn't assume headgaskets yet, but I will say mine were blown and no milkshake, just lost coolant, bit of smoke when cold. The gasket was bad on several cylinders.

Hopefully just a bleeding issue or one of the many hoses all over the place. Don't give up yet.

Good luck

 

Not sure as to their procedure. I assume (maybe incorrectly) it was done right. They did do a pressure test to diagnose it when it was originally in. I think best case scenario outside of the cap being the issue, that hoses just continue to fail. But, without any pooling, it’s tough to tell. This car was driven to about 143,000 miles to 2011, then sat, primarily, only doing 7,000 miles in the last twelve years. Wouldn’t be unusual now that I am using it on a daily basis that the pressure and heat are continuing to find new victims. But it’s the lack of visible source that’s frustrating me. I am hoping to get another pressure test at the dealer gratis with the whole “I brought this in to be fixed and it’s still not fixed” argument. TBD if that holds any water. Or coolant.

 

You said that you had to top it up with about a liter. I would continue to drive it and monitor the coolant level for a while. It is entirely possible, bordering on likely, that there was air in the system even after the dealer supposedly vacuum filled it. It will take a while to burp the air out, but your subsequent top-ups should become less and less as you check it. If they truly pressure checked it, that should have revealed a head gasket leak if there was one. I’d assume it needs burping for now and see what happens.

 

Just because you had to take it to the dealer, it doesn’t mean the tech who worked on it was familiar with these cars.

We can help narrow down the coolant loss but it will take a little time, effort and patience. Replacing the expansion tank cap is a good move as I’ve encountered a few defective ones over the years and didn’t hold a lot of pressure and let coolant pass by to the front overflow reservoir.

You need to go out to the car and open the hood. But before you go, you need a few tools.

A *strong* flashlight.
A small flathead or Phillips screwdriver.
Your phone to take pictures.
A small mechanics mirror or handheld is ok.

After you open the hood you need to remove the small Phillips screw from one of the two flat, black panels where your hood pins goes through it. I don’t know the name of them but one of them covers your brake master cylinder. Next you need to remove the large, flat, center, rectangular panel behind your throttle body. Go to the passenger side of the engine.

The orange very loosely tells how the coolant would normally leak out on top of the cat if the coupler has failed. This is the octopus hose or rear heater hose. Where this plastic coupler meets the metal pipe, it’s not uncommon for these to leak coolant directly on top of the hot catalytic converter and of course evaporate which won’t make it to the ground. I recommend using the mirror to see on the underside of this coupler to see if there’s any residue there. You may also see some residue on top of the cat. Take a few pix if you aren’t sure.

The orange circle is that same coupler from above just as a reference.

The red circle (much different than John Wick 🤪 ) is a plastic one way valve that’s located directly on top of the transmission. It’s also not uncommon for them to split and leak coolant on the hot transmission and evaporate before reaching the ground.

The green circle is where a plastic 3 way tee junction is and it’s also a common failure point. This is located on the drivers side of the engine under the throttle body.

Just do this procedure to help narrow down where your leak is coming from. One step at a time.

 

I’ll second that, at of dealership mechanics tend to be quite transient and often switch between dealerships. They aren’t necessarily trained by the manufacturer they’re representing, last month they worked at Toyota, currently at Jaguar and once they’ve got upset with the service manager there they’ll move to Kia.

We have a lot of dealership mechanics working in my place of employment and I wouldn’t trust half of them to fit a dust cap.

Regarding your coolant loss I’d also second Addicted2Boost’s suggestion, the cats do have a habit of evaporating Leaking fluids!

 

Much appreciated, folks, as always. I am going to give this a go a bit later in the week, once my local hardware shop opens post-holiday and I can snag a mirror. Took her for a nice little jaunt this morning. Trying to keep it below 3k RPM for the time being but it’s such a pleasure to be in. Hoping to sort this for not a year’s salary whatever the fix may be because I really do *love* this car.

 

Great idea on the pressure testing. See if you can find where the coolant is going.
If concerned about head gaskets I would test the coolant for combustion gases as that should quickly indicate problems or rule out the head gaskets.
The kit is only about $35 so not too expensive.
.
.
.

 

Just a thought...

I'd hope the dealer would have noticed this but it's an easy check.

Can you hear the intercooler pump run when you turn the ignition on without starting the car? When i got my XJR the fuse had gone (15amp in one of the boxes under the bonnet). I found it due to performance issues after driving for 30+mins, but one thing it was doing was using coolant. The only logic I can think of to explain it is a little bit of coolant was still getting to the intercooler & vapourising, which pressurised the system & blew out past the cap. Since the pump has worked I've not had any coolant loss. It was a lot less than you're experiencing though.

 

There is some plumbing involved, the two valley hoses are another culprit on the R. Coolant pools on top of the trans then evaps off.
Glad to see the octopus suggestion I was thinking that could be it.

The other one is air that pushes coolant to the overflow reservoir on the rhs looking at the car, in front of the wheel behind the inner liner.
It can be a hassle to get a look at the level or if indeed there is any coolant, on cooling it's supposed to return to the header reservoir. If that's full, it stays in the overflow tank.

Header tank, they split at their seem and weep coolant that should also be flashlight eyeballed for leaks.

You should be able to buy the O ring from Jaguar for the part load breather, return the non OE.

 

Good evening, all. Writing with an update. The bad news: I have checked using @Addicted2boost ’s mirror technique. Cannot find a leak at the octopus hose, etc.

It appears, best I am able to tell, that the dealer’s pressure test went correctly, and the leaks it had, they fixed.

That then, is also the good news. @aquifer and @Quadcammer ’s guidance to maybe just relax, take a deep breath, and go over the burping/bleeding has carried the day. I have been monitoring the coolant level after all different driving conditions/distances - the reservoir cap is doing its job, but I’ve bought the new part so I’ll replace it anyhow.

So, that’s a “resolved (for now).” The next item that’s popped up is one of my license plate lights on the trunk (boot!) is out. Will tinker around with that next week, after I return from some
work travel.

Another huge thank you to the forum, here. Talked me off a ledge and right back into my happy place - behind the wheel at 80 mph on an open road. Cheers.

 

Dropping by the thread today with a rote update. But that’s a good thing. I am still waiting on my tank cap from SNG Barratt - assume they have to fashion one from unobtanium at this point. Coolant level appears to be holding fine for now, nothing noticeable or dramatic. Meaning that either the system has fully burped itself, and I am in good shape, or it fully burped itself, and I have a much smaller leak than originally feared. Only time and miles will tell.

I took the car for a 70 mile loop the other day, most of which on roads I could do 90+ mph. Only nag I had was I didn’t push it past 110 purely out of conservative nature.

Anyhow, is -9° this morning in Denver, so the car is sitting until it warms. Still makes for a pretty lawn ornament.

 

That’s awesome news Steve! Glad to hear of another X308 back on the road! Just carry a jug of coolant in the trunk at all times just in case something happens.

 

Hello folks - dropping by today to contribute a few future wallpapers to the discussion. I acquired a new camera this week and you’d be hard pressed to find a better subject matter.

In the mechanical side of things, I’m having an issue getting the car started, lately. It’ll crank, but not turn over. I have to put a marginal bit of pressure on the gas pedal, try to crank again, and she fires up. Can’t imagine that’s good to do on cold starts. I also got a click-no-crank condition today. Last time that happened, it was the battery terminal cable. So, I’ve wiggled that. We’ll see what happens. May also be time for new fuel pumps, but I’m hoping to keep the big cat *out* of the shop for a bit.

Anyhow - enjoy the below! We sure do drive some of the prettiest cars around. The last one is my favorite.