Tricky overheating problem
#1
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Tricky overheating problem
I'm the new owner of a 1999 XJR with 94,000. The motor was replaced at 45,000 with a steel sleeved motor and fresh chain tensioners. The temp gauge climbs towards the red about every third day of driving, usually after coming off highway speeds into slow traffic. The "LOW COOLANT" light comes on and it drips a small amount of coolant from the area of the overflow tank. Overall, it has not lost much coolant. When the gauge says it's hot, I can pop the hood and some of the small hoses are hardly warm at all and none of the hoses are too hot to touch. Both fans seem to run when they are supposed to, and when I shut the car down at normal operating temp, the fans don't run, which seems fine.
In the last four weeks, I've:
- replaced the water pump twice with the new version.
- replace the thermostat twice.
- replaced the hoses under the supercharger.
- radiator removed and cleaned out.
- replaced the temp sensor.
Anyone got a theory?
In the last four weeks, I've:
- replaced the water pump twice with the new version.
- replace the thermostat twice.
- replaced the hoses under the supercharger.
- radiator removed and cleaned out.
- replaced the temp sensor.
Anyone got a theory?
#3
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RE: Tricky overheating problem
Good suggestions. The car is now on its 3rd week at the dealer: they thought they found a heater hose in the back of the engine that had a slight split...then it busted and dumped coolant...put on a new hose, drove it, and guess what...still overheated. They think the electrical aux water pump is fine. I'm running out of parts to replace nearly as fast as I'm running out of money.
Could it be as simple as a bad radiator cap? Do hoses ever collapse on these cars? I've simply never heard of not being able to diagnose an overheating problem.
Could it be as simple as a bad radiator cap? Do hoses ever collapse on these cars? I've simply never heard of not being able to diagnose an overheating problem.
#4
Join Date: Jun 2007
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RE: Tricky overheating problem
when water pumps go sometimes there blades brake off and im wondering if there clogging something...
and also the fans shud also always run at all timies.(low speed,especially with a/c on).. do they go high speed?
there maybe a problem either wiring or something with the fans. when on normal.. both fans are run in series so they are on low.. then when temp goes high.. the fans shud go high speed..which the relays makes the fans run in parellel for more amperage..more speed.. seems challenging wud love to work on it,
also if it is a "fake" over heating wiring to ect?
and also the fans shud also always run at all timies.(low speed,especially with a/c on).. do they go high speed?
there maybe a problem either wiring or something with the fans. when on normal.. both fans are run in series so they are on low.. then when temp goes high.. the fans shud go high speed..which the relays makes the fans run in parellel for more amperage..more speed.. seems challenging wud love to work on it,
also if it is a "fake" over heating wiring to ect?
#5
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RE: Tricky overheating problem
Yes, I've lately wondered what happens to the plastic blades of the water pump if they "melt."
The saga continues: today the dealer said even though it passes the pressure test, it may be a slight leak in a head gasket. Of course, any diagnosis after 2 1/2 weeks seems suspect. It seems 90% of the time a blown head gasket is the result of overheating, not the cause of overheating. It doesn't have water in the oil or oil in the water, it doesn't burn white smoke and it runs perfectly. I would think that a bad head gasket would need to eliminate coolant as the cause of overheating, but it hasn't been low on coolant, other than the slight loss from the overflow tank. If the car heats up because of a head gasket, I'm surprised that I can let it cool for 2 minutes, drive on, and then not have the it overheat again for 2 days.
Has anyone had experience with a micro-leaking head gasket where exhaust gases heat up the coolant causing overheating on an intermittent basis? Man, that sounds way out there...
The saga continues: today the dealer said even though it passes the pressure test, it may be a slight leak in a head gasket. Of course, any diagnosis after 2 1/2 weeks seems suspect. It seems 90% of the time a blown head gasket is the result of overheating, not the cause of overheating. It doesn't have water in the oil or oil in the water, it doesn't burn white smoke and it runs perfectly. I would think that a bad head gasket would need to eliminate coolant as the cause of overheating, but it hasn't been low on coolant, other than the slight loss from the overflow tank. If the car heats up because of a head gasket, I'm surprised that I can let it cool for 2 minutes, drive on, and then not have the it overheat again for 2 days.
Has anyone had experience with a micro-leaking head gasket where exhaust gases heat up the coolant causing overheating on an intermittent basis? Man, that sounds way out there...
#6
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RE: Tricky overheating problem
Oh, and I like your concern about the fans, but I recall them working correctly. I suppose it's possible that they work on high speed after it gets hot and I open the hood to check, but maybe they are not behaving correctly at normal temp, causing the overheating...
#7
RE: Tricky overheating problem
Wow, im having some isues with my 98 xjr too. I hope its not as complicated as yours, i just bought the car a few days a go and ran fine untill earlier today i was driving a bit spirited but nothing crazy, and glanced at my temp gage and it was on Red w/the light on. I felt the hoses and i can notice a difference the higher radiator hose is really hot can only keep my hand on it for a few seconds and the other one one on the driver side is warm but can keep my hand on it. Im guessing its the thermostat. i checked the coolent when the car was on but not to hot and it didnt seem to be circulating, and i also had some not much of the coolent from the overflow spill out. The last owner said it had never done that before and hes had the car since new, i belive him. Would my driving a little hard be the cause for this or just bad luck?...Let me know when you figure out the problem.
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#8
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RE: Tricky overheating problem
Sorry to hear of your overheating. Hopefully, you have a simple fix instore since the water pumps in these cars are notoriously bad, and the thermostats are a bit touchy, too.
I'll finish the story on my XJR overheating problem, which I hope won't keep you awake at night: we finally determined via chemical analysis that exhaust gases were in the coolant, indicating a bad head gasket. My mechanic replaced both head gaskets, put everything back together, and the car instantly spew coolant out the overflow tank even before it got up to operating temp. It then quickly overheated. Clearly, the very hot exhaust gases were still being introduced into the coolant at high pressure. We gave up, and the next solution was a new motor. This one works fine and the car is again terrific. My mechanic talked about how strange (loose) the head bolts felt when torqued down. After taking the bad motor apart, we discovered the leak was all along the head gasket. These motors don't suffer overeating very well, true of all alluminum motors, I suppose. The fact that the factory does not authorize the dealership to tear down a motor is an indication of how tricky these things can be.
I bought my XJR from local individual who is a master jag mechanic and he stood behind the car (1999, 92,000 miles) and ate the costs to make it right. He's a terrific guy, obviously.
Best of luck.
I'll finish the story on my XJR overheating problem, which I hope won't keep you awake at night: we finally determined via chemical analysis that exhaust gases were in the coolant, indicating a bad head gasket. My mechanic replaced both head gaskets, put everything back together, and the car instantly spew coolant out the overflow tank even before it got up to operating temp. It then quickly overheated. Clearly, the very hot exhaust gases were still being introduced into the coolant at high pressure. We gave up, and the next solution was a new motor. This one works fine and the car is again terrific. My mechanic talked about how strange (loose) the head bolts felt when torqued down. After taking the bad motor apart, we discovered the leak was all along the head gasket. These motors don't suffer overeating very well, true of all alluminum motors, I suppose. The fact that the factory does not authorize the dealership to tear down a motor is an indication of how tricky these things can be.
I bought my XJR from local individual who is a master jag mechanic and he stood behind the car (1999, 92,000 miles) and ate the costs to make it right. He's a terrific guy, obviously.
Best of luck.
#11
i had the same issue on my 98 xjr, i was able to fix the problem by changing the water pump. my blades were all torn off but i have not had a problem with overheating since then. I also was wondering about the blades if they would cause damage if the were to brake off and go through out the cooling system. i hope you find the problem, good luck.
#12
Join Date: Sep 2008
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turn you ac on and both fans should come on low speed, make sure they BOTH come on. On thermostat issues, pop off the check ball when putting in a new thermostat. water pumps are NOT probelmatic anymore and putting a new style in twice IMO is guessing. surges of coolant and overheating is more an indication of improper air bleeding than a head gasket, and NO Jaguar engines are not complicated. It just does not pay to rebuild engines these days. machine work, acquirring parts,assembly, and warranty all contributes to having rebuilders that do engines all day do the work, its not that theyre difficult.. i have a bigger problem finding competant machine shops that doing a rebuild. And the ones that are good are buried with work and take too long
#14
Last edited by Sean B; 01-21-2011 at 06:12 AM.
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