You give good advice Rich... as always...even after you sold your 2009 Portfolio. FYI.... the latest version of the water pump for our XKs is part number C2Z31587. There have been 4-5 updates on the part number since 2010. Thanks for your imput Rich. Very nice hearing from you after all this time. You have always been a wealth of info. I loved your battery hookup under your bumper! on your Jag. I've use a similar connect for my XK after sitting in the garage for months with great success.. Thanks again.

 

Do you know if that's the new design with the better bearings?

 

2010 XK (Ruby) just like bocatrip's; replaced H2O pump around 20K (now 23K).
I, too smelled antifreeze when parking Ruby in the garage, but the antifreeze reservoir hardly decreased. And much searching around the H2O pump with mirrors, fingers, etc, never yielded coolant. So I ignored it.

But one day, I heard a weird noise, looked in the engine, and the H2O pump was wobbling quite clearly. Do you see that?

Replaced the H2O pump (and I also flushed the antifreeze), but for a couple of weeks I still smelled coolant. Washed the plastic pan under the engine with a garden hose, and that took care of the smell.

All is good now.

Wrair

 

I've made a little progress today with my coolant leak. I took my car to my trusty Indy today without an appt and he was quite busy at the time with all lifts taken. He knows my situation fairly well as I speak about it when I take my lexus in for service. He was able to check the water pump on the ground with his mirrors and after 30 minutes times was not able to see any residue at the weep hole. However....he did notice a coolant smell as soon as I opened the hood. Also...he told me to come back tomorrow morning so that he can take down the splash cover underneath and inspect the pump and surrounding plastic cooling lines more thoroughly. My indy is not one to replace any part just because ones suspects it as defective. He likes to see it leaking or problematic. I will have more info tomorrow. At least someone other than myself has smelled the coolant. In the event I insist on replacing the waterpump or he suggests it it will be a fraction of dealer cost of $750 which is not crazy with factory pump. Bottom line is an easy and fairly reasonable repair "if it solves my problem". At least after finishing the replacement if it still smells from coolant....the worst culprit was eliminated. Too be continued. I'll keep all posted since I'm so obsessed with this fix.

 

No Chazaroo... Read the post #21 The most updated water pump part number should be: C2Z31587

 

Fingers crossed. At least you've got a solid alternative to the dealership pirates.

 

Thanks for the encouragement. 25 years in the auto business hardened and educated me to these scenarios. Similar to ur own health issues... we always need to be our own advocates! Be pro active and make the decisions that we think make sense and might be right.

 

If you're continually topping off the expansion tank, think about what you're doing. That may be why you're smelling coolant.

Coolant expands when it gets hot and flows from the radiator into the expansion tank. After you've parked and the car cools off, the coolant flows from the expansion tank back into the radiator. If you then refill the expansion tank above the cold fill line, there will be too much coolant in the system and the excess will be forced out of the overflow tube and into the engine compartment.

You should be able to see the tell-tale tracks of red/orange dried coolant from underneath your car. That should tell you where the leak is coming from.

I, too, noticed the tell-tale aroma of coolant coming from the grille area of my 2013 XJ 5.0L SC. Being aware of the water pump issue, I took it into my dealer who replaced the water pump under my CPO warranty.

 

You were one of the lucky ones Stuart. I will be investigating further tomorrow and continue until I find a solution/repair. I'm quite persistant. One more time "the water pump".

 

I have smelled coolant ever since I purchased my '10 XKR about 3 years ago with 5K miles on it. Now I have 13K on the car. However, no coolant is EVER missing from the system. Still it really made me nervous smelling coolant every time I got out of the car during my nearly 1000 miles of drive through the hot Western deserts last summer.

Same experience when I took it to the dealer and they pressure tested it, finding it Ok.

 

I don't think that is unusual for these cars. I can smell coolant when I raise the hood on my '13 XJ. Ever since it was new. 55,000 miles later and the coolant reservoir is still full and I have never added coolant.

 

UPDATE: Went to my Indy today to get my car on the lift. The splash cover was removed (never removed since new) and after a thorough and very close inspection of the water pump there was absolutely no evidence of any residue or crusting or staining anywhere near the weep hole or water pump. No coolant staining anywhere. Completely dry with everything looking like a new car. Yes my Indy did smell coolant yesterday so at least I'm not crazy. I'll just need to continue to keep an eye on the coolant. At least now I know Jaguar was telling me the truth.

 

Ask him to pressure test the cap. It could be venting after shut down or a small vapor leak from it. Otherwise just drive it and check it once a week.

 

Actally I replaced the cap with a new one a few months ago. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

I can see why you are frustrated. Some here smell coolant but they don't have to add any, seems odd but there's no leak if that's the case. Personally, my 2010XK does indeed have a leak and I have to add about 5-6 oz per month. I can see some coolant residue underneath the water pump so I know were it's going, not positive of the source yet but I have an idea
BUT you mentioned in your original post that you DO lose coolant and have to add some once in a while but no one can see any residue. That means it's leaking somewhere and that's not normal. Frustrating indeed....

 

YUP! Frustrating indeed. I don't want to make this a life long quest as I'm up there in years. I just want to enjoy my car with no major issues. I purchased it 3 years ago for well under MSRP but still quite a few dolllars! Today it's lesser but still a new car to me. I'm hopefully feeling it's still reliable enough to drive a long distance without issues. I'm planning on taking such a trip. Just hate the unexpected....wish this was a Lexus with Jaguar outside design! lol guess there is no easy compromise.

 

Here you go for 100 bucks you can get piece of mind.

 

KEWL...

 

I'm considering an 07-08 XK, and I'd like a good indy. I see bocatrip so not sure if you're near Boca -- can you share the name of your indy? I'm in Ft Lauderdale. Thanks

BTW, it's not unusual for coolant vapor to be expelled through old expansion tank caps, pinholes in the top of the radiator and so forth. Point is that there's no visible "wetness" left behind. Best way to find these is to use a uvdye and a pressure test. Good luck.

 

Those are two different statements buddy and not necessarily related