Hi all, new to the site and wanted to say hello and also pick your brains! I have a x308 1998 xjr which is a fantastic car but unfortunately over the last few day's it appears to have developed a heating issue. When engine is up to temperature it normally sits at half way on the gauge but over the last few day's it creeps up to 3/4 until i put the heating on max then it drops back down to half way (where it normally sits) i have done a little research and believe it may have the original water pump which in which have plastic vanes and also are known to break off, I'm also going to change the thermostat too. Now my question is how hard is it to change the water pump? Any tips you recommend? Thanks all in advance.

 

Welcome to the forum Juddy,

The temperature gauge is notoriously unreliable. It doesn't start to move from the normal position until the engine is already seriously hot. Investigate the cause of the overheating and fix it a.s.a.p. Overheating can be a Jaguar V8 engine killer.

When you get a minute, please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some information about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

The waterpump is a simple job to swap. I'm not a big fan of the metal impeller replacements, they come with an incorrect paper gasket, the Jaguar replacement has a white plastic impeller and metal/rubber gasket. The early cars came with the black plastic impeller and they're prone to failure - the colours will tell you which you have.

Remove the SC belt, and accessory belt, lock the pump pulley with a spanner across 2 of the bolt heads while using another spanner to free each bolt, pull the pump and install the new one.

 

I just did mine yesterday. Easy job if you don't end up by breaking one of the plastic "breather" lines (which I did). The line had NOTHING to do with the job, they just break easily if you put pressure on them.

I researched and like the AC Delco replacement. Metal impeller, not plastic. There is some good info on this thread - look for mine with today's date.

http://https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xj-xj8-xjr-x308-27/xj8-water-pump-replacement-186706/