Coolant Leak front of car (not Thermostat tower)
#1
Coolant Leak front of car (not Thermostat tower)
Hey everybody!
My 2001 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas is experiencing a rather large coolant loss near the front end of the engine toward the front of the car. I had the thermostat housing upgraded a few years ago and it doesn't appear to be coming from there. There is no coolant in the valleys behind the tower. The leak seems to be coming from somewhere between the tower and the front of the car. The weather has been very poor lately and haven't been able to get a good look, but I can't see where it is coming from. I found a video on YouTube talking about a coolant cross over tube where he was experiencing a leak. I'm hoping this could be my issue. Are there any other common problems in this area that I should be looking at? Here is the YouTube video I found:
I have an identical parts car to my daily driver, the parts car is in fantastic shape, so whatever the problem ends up being I plan on taking the parts.
I look forward to hearing what you may think it is!
Attached a picture of my parts car (left) and my daily (right) .
My 2001 Jaguar XJ8 Vanden Plas is experiencing a rather large coolant loss near the front end of the engine toward the front of the car. I had the thermostat housing upgraded a few years ago and it doesn't appear to be coming from there. There is no coolant in the valleys behind the tower. The leak seems to be coming from somewhere between the tower and the front of the car. The weather has been very poor lately and haven't been able to get a good look, but I can't see where it is coming from. I found a video on YouTube talking about a coolant cross over tube where he was experiencing a leak. I'm hoping this could be my issue. Are there any other common problems in this area that I should be looking at? Here is the YouTube video I found:
I have an identical parts car to my daily driver, the parts car is in fantastic shape, so whatever the problem ends up being I plan on taking the parts.
I look forward to hearing what you may think it is!
Attached a picture of my parts car (left) and my daily (right) .
#2
I'm in a similar boat w/ a smaller leak, I did the t-stat housing & crossover pipe in July this year, but not the lower hose. My 1st plan of attack is the ever trusty pressure test.
RobertDIY has some excellent Jag vids, plus he's a Steelers fan so win/win.
RobertDIY has some excellent Jag vids, plus he's a Steelers fan so win/win.
Last edited by King Charles; 11-28-2017 at 06:13 PM.
The following 2 users liked this post by King Charles:
Don B (11-30-2017),
holybananas (11-29-2017)
#3
The following 2 users liked this post by RJ237:
Don B (11-30-2017),
holybananas (11-29-2017)
#4
Either way I'm going to replace both bleeders & the lower hose.
The following 2 users liked this post by King Charles:
Don B (11-30-2017),
holybananas (11-29-2017)
#5
Thank you for all the tips. I went out there before the rain started picking up but still couldn't pinpoint where the leak is. I took a video and a picture showing how wet everything is. It appears to below the thermostat tower, so would this be the waterpump? I can't see anything actively dripping, it's just pooling down below and then dripping to the pavement.
#6
There generally is a weep hole on the bottom of the water pump that lets coolant drip as it leaks pass the water pump internal bearing seal along the line of it's rotating shaft. I don't know if the X308 has one but wash and dry the area and look for drips from this area as the coolant is pressurized .
The following 3 users liked this post by Lady Penelope:
#7
Hi holybananas,
King Charles, RJ and Lady P have already given you the most likely suspects. I just wanted to chime in that I would think twice about using the old water pump and crossover pipe from your parts car. These are not only wear parts, but they suffer from age regardless of mileage. I'd hate to go the effort to install them, only to find that they leak immediately or in the near future.
The Airtex AW4124 waterpump appears to be the same pump Jaguar now supplies as a replacement, and it's available for less than USD $35 from Rock Auto. The pump comes with a paper gasket, which I have used successfully on several Jags, but if you want the OE-style metal and rubber gasket, the Mahle/Victor Reinz K31850 is $13.86. Note that the pump you buy should have a plastic impeller to endure the Organic Acid Technology coolant (Dex-Cool), which does not protect metal impellers from electrolysis and cavitation erosion.
The crossover pipe is available from our forum sponsors SNG Barratt, Coventry West, Welsh Enterprises, and Jagbits.
Cheers,
Don
King Charles, RJ and Lady P have already given you the most likely suspects. I just wanted to chime in that I would think twice about using the old water pump and crossover pipe from your parts car. These are not only wear parts, but they suffer from age regardless of mileage. I'd hate to go the effort to install them, only to find that they leak immediately or in the near future.
The Airtex AW4124 waterpump appears to be the same pump Jaguar now supplies as a replacement, and it's available for less than USD $35 from Rock Auto. The pump comes with a paper gasket, which I have used successfully on several Jags, but if you want the OE-style metal and rubber gasket, the Mahle/Victor Reinz K31850 is $13.86. Note that the pump you buy should have a plastic impeller to endure the Organic Acid Technology coolant (Dex-Cool), which does not protect metal impellers from electrolysis and cavitation erosion.
The crossover pipe is available from our forum sponsors SNG Barratt, Coventry West, Welsh Enterprises, and Jagbits.
Cheers,
Don
Last edited by Don B; 11-30-2017 at 01:29 PM.
The following 2 users liked this post by Don B:
holybananas (12-03-2017),
RJ237 (11-30-2017)
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