Jon, save me looking, PM your address and I will get them off in the morning.


Wayne

 

If it is mounted like the 4.0 a universal 8mm will not work. I took an old open end wrench and bent it. With mine prior to installing the 2 rear bolts I cut a slot in then so I could use a screwdriver to reinstall but if I had to do it over again I would replace both bolts with an allen head.

I would love to come and help!

 

Gus, item 18 in this thread will take you to my write up on the 4.0 with the bolt sizes in the Allen head, made it easy. I hope anyone doing it on a early one will give it a read.


Wayne

 

No I did not read your post. Good job!

 

I woke up a couple of times last night thinking about this job. I'm concerned about the front-hinged hood of the car. That prevents you from working right there in front of everything and forces you to work across the fenders. For me and my football-ravaged lower back, I know from experience that hours of trying to do that will be a killer. Any suggestions on how to make it more doable other than just take my time and give my back sufficient breaks from the job?

It's almost time for SNG Barratt to open for business so I'll break away now and do some quick reviewing so I'll be ready to talk parts and strategies with them....

Stay tuned....

 

Jon,

Do you know of the fully-vertical maintenance position available with the hood? Really opens things up when working under there. Releasing little clips on the rams that control hood movement lets you put it in this position.

I always put a rolled-up blanket up near the windshield when the hood is in this state. If it were to fall, ain't no rams attached to slow its decent!

 

On a side note. I had intermittent "Engine coolant low" message. I was expecting the coolent not to be there, but it was barely down in the header tank. I maybe put in half a litre. Does this mean that the sensor goes off at the slightest loss? Not that that is a bad thing. I will keep an eye on things now.

 

Dennis,

Where are those ram hood clips you mentioned? I just looked, but my untrained eye does not see them. If I can safely get the hood more vertical, that will definitely help save my lower back....

 

Jon,

Right at the tip of each ram where it pivots on a ball that is attached to the hood. Similar on the bottom end, but I never tried them.

Be careful as you release them. They're springy and can launch themselves a considerable distance if they get loose. Or, uh, so I've heard.

 

Does anyone have a start-to-finish tutorial and a list of required tools to do the whole plastic outlet pipe assembly job on the 4.2 engine? After taking a good long look under my hood, I see that the various bolts which fasten the assembly to the engine are Torx, not hex. The only hex bolts I see are the three that hold the thermostat cover to the thermostat housing. On my JTIS CD I've been able to find the removal and replacement process for the thermostat, but not for the whole plastic outlet pipe assembly....

A start-to-finish set of instructions would be of great assistance to someone like me who hates doing plumbing work (call it what you like, but to me it's plumbing)....

 

Update:

I have the new coolant outlet pipe assembly in hand. My local Jaguar dealership offered me a $115 deal on their retail $147 price so I dropped what I was doing and drove over there to grab it. Looks like my Thanksgiving Week plans just got reshuffled. Hope to start tomorrow morning if we get good weather (meaning no rain). The colder outside, the better for me....

Still would certainly appreciate a been-there-done-that tutorial from anyone who's pulled this off on the 4.2 engine. Those two rear Torx bolts will be difficult to get to, but removing the manifold front metal plate (and replacing its gasket just to be safe) is supposed to provide enough room for my Torx T-30 socket on my 1/4-inch drive with a 6-inch extension to get down in there. We'll see....

 

Jon
Try to avoid letting any coolant onto the pulleys and belts. It can make them turn very noisy.

 

I use the clips at the bottom. They just pop off or you might have to prise them a bit with a flat-blade screwdriver.

The hood/bonnet will raise to a full vertical position. Note picture #2. Once in the vertical position, you can put a bolt on both the hinges to prevent the hood from coming back down. In the picture it looks like a blue dot. I keep two bolts on my bench just for that purpose with nuts to make sure they stay put.

It really makes working on the front of the engine easier. Pulled the radiator this way without taking off the hood.

 

Bolts on the hinges. Perfect. Wish I'd thought of that.

 

We've got light rain falling today and heavier rain expected tomorrow, then Thanksgiving Day during which we'll be out of town. So it's looking like this project will have to wait until the weekend. I prefer working outside in natural sunlight and plenty of service clearance around the car so I don't do these tough jobs in my packed garage....

 

I had the same problem with the low coolant light coming on every 3 months or so for a couple of years. My solution was to simply top it off with distilled water .. maybe a cup at most. About six months ago, I was getting a squeak/squeal noise for the first 5 minutes or so when warming up. Being a Lifetime Ford owner I naturally suspected the water pump/weep hole.

As it happened they discovered that the belt was going, and while they were in there .. discovered a minute hairline crack in the thermostat housing/octopus. So it was decided to do some of the 100k stuff at 85k and get it over with. The Santa Rosa dealership sent the wrong octopus part in the right box but finally got it sorted out. Be prepared for sticker shock .. the lower hose costs more than the octopus. This is a highly engineered high-flow coolant system, designed to get up to operating temperature in only Four minutes as I recall.

I'm glad you guys are sharing so much info regarding these tasks .. I too used to love all things wrenching automotive .. 30 years ago lol. Nowadays I can afford to farm-it-out as it where, but my bill will inspire the DIY readers to carry on .. $814* total parts and labor. '03 XK8 conv 85K.

So if ya got 85K and have a squeaky belt, best to check out the other stuff while changin' out the belt. The anti-corrosive properties of the plastic parts comes at a cost, but I'm not complaining. At 85K, one hose was developing quite a significant bulge/aneurysm and could have conceivably gone at any time, and that would have ruined my day. It's 11 years old .. stuff needs to be changed out. Cheers!

*Labor included 3 visits under the hood over two weeks .. belt>leak discovery, wrong part, and finally to completed job. Labor is $85/hr here. Lower hose was about $170.

 

Quick question - How do I loosen and remove those little metal "Norma" clamps that hold the small hose running from the top of the coolant outlet pipe back to the coolant expansion tank? Do those clamps require a special tool or will my needle-nose pliers do the trick? I'm afraid I'll ruin those clamps if I go at them without first having an understanding of how they work....

 

Those Norma connectors are intended to make assembly at the factory easy but after 11 years there is an even chance that you are going to break one trying to get it off.

There is a tool for releasing the connector.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...39/#post520677

 

Jon, I don't think you are talking about a Norma connection on the fill tank. Are you talking about the corrugated clamps that hold the half inch pipe??


Wayne

 

Wayne,

I must have used the wrong name for the clamp. But I sure thought I saw "Norma" embossed on them yesterday afternoon....

Yes, I am indeed referring to the small metal clamps on the hose running between the top of the coolant outlet pipe and the coolant expansion tank. Looking at them, the word "corrugated" is indeed a good way to describe them. They do not look as if they would be squeezed off with pliers. They look more like they might be pried open with a screwdriver. But I don't want to try ANY removal method until I have a better understanding of how they work....