Hi Guys,
Well went to run some errands and I stopped and shopped, came back to the car, and there was coolant all over. It looked like it came from the tank on the left front fender. (not the tank that's black on the bulkhead, the clear tank hidden by the belly pan at the front).
I filled her up with water, and started to drive home. The low coolant warning came on after about 10 minutes, I pulled over and it was HOT, I had extra water so I added water, the fans were running and turned off after a few minutes.
At this point I called AAA for a flatbed.
Car starts but has a rough idle, not bad but noticeable.
question...
Has anyone had problems with this overflow tank?
What is it called?
Did I screw up the engine?
Called Scottsdale Jaguar, they want $255 for the expansion tank, but I think he meant the black one on the bulkhead.

 

I think you mean the Header Tank (item 5):



Check the hose (item 4) hasn't become detached or split before assuming tank failure.

Graham

 

Fix the cooling system first. Once that is back to normal, read your fault codes with an OBDII reader and post them here for advice.

 

Thanks GGG I just got off the phone with the Dealer, he confirmed the header tank, said he has never sold one, tank is MNC4460 $135, hose is MNC4468AD $31 said he's not sold one of those either.

WHITEXJR, thanks, after my major rebuild I'm a little nervous, wife is saying when do I get her an SUV.. Ahhhhhhhh......

 

Easier question: how do you release these plastic bleeder pipes from their fittings? Busted the ^^^^ out of the one between the expansion tank and the radiator. Half inch rubber tube at radiator nipple and 4 (yes 4) tighteners to tighten down on the plastic tube (7 above) has temporarily fixed, but sloppy (hate sloppy). given more blood on this ^^^^ing car than I ever gave to Red Cross.

 

OK got the header tank off, the hose from the overflow is just a sloppy fit in the top.
There is an open port in the side of the header tank, water is coming from that port.
Definitely not a sealed system.
what is causing this loss of coolant?

 

I am not sure of your nomenclature, but note the crossed hoses on the front of the picture of the "expansion tank". When you say "header tank", do you refer to the one in the wheel well, or the one shown as "expansion tank". AGAIN, NOTE THE CROSSED HOSES. Many folks have founf those improperly installed (including me!)

 

It looked like I had them crossed on the Expansion tank, after swapping problem got worse.
I think we spoke about this in another thread earlier sparkenzap

 

The problem is not your header tank or pipe, but why the pressure from the cooling system is high or why it escapes from the expansion tank if it's normal.
Check (and swap if possible) the cap if it's pressure tight or not (and the coolant is going out of the expansion tank when the pressure is normal-no pressure in the system, problem with the cooling, can kill the engine) or if the pressure in the system is too high due to other reason(broken fins on the pump, blocked thermostat or the worst, head gasket). You said that the the thin hoses are right. The dealer must have some pressure testing kit for both the system and the cap.

 

The small hoses should be crossed -- the middle outlet on the tank is the one that runs to the fender overflow. It is just a tank. The cap controls the pressure and the overflow. The system is not open -- just that line to the fender tank

If the system is properly filled you could get some coolant to flow to the overflow if you have a defective cap that is not holding back the normal pressure that the system is designed for.

Also other issues could be excessive heat in the system from a possible defective pump or maybe pressure from a bad head gasket.

The small plastic connectors use a small tool that pushes out the clip - you can use two small nails on each side slipped between the slot and achieve the same result ... the small hoses with the metal clips are held on by Click R clamps and use a special tool to remove and reuse.

 

update:
Went to the dealer and bought the hose that I broke, the one that goes to the front of the radiator 2 pieces ($48ea) and a new expansion tank cap ($50.00)
I mounted everything and filled with coolant, Started engine and am hearing what sounds like supercharger rotor slap. I did have a little valve noise (due to slightly big clearance on 1 valve) before, but that is not as loud as before.
I have a restricted performance message. Should I do a hard reset to try clearing the code?

 

Roger, I'll trade you my trouble free VDP, for your XJR primadonna. Enough is enough. You can deliver it to my ranch on the flatbed, and drive back in style! I'm sure your wife would be happy to see that thing out of the house!

I hope there is nothing wrong with the head gasket install you did recently.

 

This morning I was looking at a 2005 Aston Martin DB9, 30K miles, $69,900

Thinking can I convince my wife this is a good idea.

 

This kind of dough would buy you about eight XJRs in good working condition. Drive one, and store seven. Any time the one you are driving has a hickup, store it, and take another one on the road. I bet they would last until you kick the buckett. And you would never have to do another repair! And you can not say that about Aston Martin.

 

Them must be some good drugs

Anyways ... I explained this last week somewhere, but since I can't remember where ... I'll type it out again.

You might want to get the pressure cap out in your hand while reading this.

The pressure cap has two seals. One at the bottom and one under the cap. The pressure relief passage runs from the bottom of the cap to the gap between the two seals. When the pressure valve opens the coolant flows up into the gap and out the overflow pipe. Thus, this is another way to decide which connecting nipple is the overflow nipple.

Under the vacuum created when the engine cools, coolant in the overflow will be sucked back into the expansion tank to make up for losses.

Presuming that the engine is properly filled with coolant, if the cap is sealed no coolant should run out of the overflow when the engine is not hot or under pressure from coolant expansion. If it does, first replace the pressure cap and try again. The rockauto one is the same as the factory cap. Right down to excess casting flash on the threads.

Failing the above, then you need a exhaust gas testing kit. It is used to detect exhaust gases in the coolant passages from a leaking head gasket. If the liquid turns color, the gasket is leaking

BTW, a coating of silicone grease on the inside and top of the filler neck makes it easier to seat the pressure cap.

 

Unfortunately -- the early cars have a few potential cooling system problems that are best all addressed when purchased and be done with .... keep the faith.

I replaced all my small plastic hoses recently - as a preventive maintenance .. I think all of them were just over $100.00.

Like the DB9 .... I have a DB7 ....

 

Well, sorry about regurgitating the crossed line advice, but you might be suprised how many time folks post aboout a heating problem, and that is what it is- just check the archives.

In additon to the good advice already given, I suggest you figure out whether the car is getting hot and expelling water, or if it is expelling water and then getting hot. Look at the asdvice so far, and you will realize about half addresses each issue. Can you exdpain why you were considering replacing the tank in the fender? Does it look like it might be leaking? Mine keeps about 1/4 to 1/2 full a few weeks after I have refilled the radiator. Some folks are convinced they are burping the coolant system when they add water in several steps after it empties. After the first burp, I believe they are usually just filling the overflow tank. I have drained and refilled my XJRS and my wife;s XJ8 a bunch of times over the 400,000 miles i have owned them and never saw indication that more filling was needed if I filled, ran the engine for 5 minutes while keeping the tank full, then closing the tank and running for 10 minuts or so until it was hot, then checking again.

You also have not said if the system is pressurizing. Do the hoses gat hard?

If you have a misfire, what codes are you getting? That, and an inspection of a couple of spark plugs can give an pretty good indication of a head gasket problem. If the cylinders can compress gas into the water jacket, its a pretty good guess that the compressed water will dump in there too.

 

Sounds like a head gasket to me. I don't know what you have done recently but this sounds like you need to replace a head gasket. The Jag I just purchased had a bad head gasket. Try filling it with coolant and running it with the cap off, like you would to bleed the cooling system and let it get up to operating temp. If it simply won't hold water or wants to shoot coolant out of the top of the reservoir then call it a head gasket. Be careful, watch out for hot coolant--it burns...

You may not want to believe it, but sometimes you just have to bear down and look at all the evidence and not block out any possibilities.

 

Hi Disco,
I just rebuilt the top of the motor because of a head Gasket, I REALLY do not want to go through that again. touch wood the gaskets are OK, if not I'll just buy a new car and fix the Jag later when I have time.

 

Yes, it is quite a project. I understand your pain and reasoning. Just looked at your pictures, It is a beautiful car and it looks like you were very thorough in your work.

If I were you then I would run through all the usual tests and maybe just run it to see if more symptoms occur.

Good luck to you, I hate to hear such bad news about these lovely machines.