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1. out on a drive, squirted off pretty hard just really from 0 - 100kph;
2. about a minute later I got a low coolant message;
3. about 2 - 3 minutes later I got an overheating warning;
4. pulled over, white smoke was coming from under the bonnet. It didnt smell, I think it was steam;
5. there was a lot of fluid sprayed in the bay mostly in front of the oil filter I think. The fluid was brownish/clear and slightly greasy to the touch but it felt a lot thinner than oil and there was no burning smell. I am hoping it was just coolant. Coolant was quite low so it is all pointing to a failure of something to do with the coolant system aside from the greasiness of the fluid. There was also a lot of fluid under the car.
I had the car bought back by truck to my brother's house while I work out whether it is something that can be dealt with there or does it need to be trucked off to a repairer. So:
1. any thoughts on the likely failure?
2. any thoughts on whether the repair is likely to be a Big Thing?
3. if I fill it with coolant, is there much risk starting it up?
Sounds like one of the common coolant system parts (Y pipe etc) or water pump has conked out. Normally not a huge thing but usually requires the supercharger to come off to be able to reach the parts that need to be replaced. I doubt there would be much risk to just start it up if you fill it with coolant.
When the water pump went in an XF 3.0 S/C I had years ago it played out in a very similar manner with massive steam and coolant sprayed all over the engine compartment.
Last edited by MajorTom; May 18, 2025 at 04:24 AM.
No question it is coolant and a pipe/tube/seal whatever has cracked or split.
Check the simplest thing first - the expansion tank hose/tube where it splits into two thin tubes which then plug into the front cross-over pipe, one up high and one lower down. The higher one of the two split/cracked on mine a few years ago and sprayed coolant all over the front of the engine bay, got the low coolant level warning but luckily no overheat warning.
Top the expansion tank back up with distilled water, start the engine, let it warm up a bit, then inspect those two little tubes and wiggle them a bit and see if you can spot a leak. If it is one of those tubes you are in luck as a new pipe is cheap and easy to fit.
If it's not one of those tubes then you may not be so lucky and it is most likely to be the infamous Y-pipe or cross-over pipe, big $$$ to replace as the SC needs to come off.
Good info, thanks. Hopefully it is the top pipe as the water is definitely all over the top of the engine bay, on the air pipes etc. Though it looked pretty much identical to Major Tom's pics above.
Does giving the car the beans bring one of these events on? It happened just after I had given it a squirt, having driven it about a half hour.
A temperature change might trigger the timing of the failure, but I don't think the hard drive is to blame. It just happens. When my F-Pace went, I was just a mile from the house and stopped at a light. I caught the faint sweet smell and headed home. In my case, no overheating and no low coolant warning, but that's probably just because I noticed it early. I drove it to the dealer the next day with 2 jugs of water and kept a close eye on the engine temp, but it made the 25 mile trip without an issue. BTW, that was on the 2017 at age 4.75 and it got the redesigned JLR plastic pipes under warranty. Meanwhile, the 2014 still has the original pipes, but I have a set of the aluminum ones on hand, just in case.
A temperature change might trigger the timing of the failure, but I don't think the hard drive is to blame. It just happens. When my F-Pace went, I was just a mile from the house and stopped at a light. I caught the faint sweet smell and headed home. In my case, no overheating and no low coolant warning, but that's probably just because I noticed it early. I drove it to the dealer the next day with 2 jugs of water and kept a close eye on the engine temp, but it made the 25 mile trip without an issue. BTW, that was on the 2017 at age 4.75 and it got the redesigned JLR plastic pipes under warranty. Meanwhile, the 2014 still has the original pipes, but I have a set of the aluminum ones on hand, just in case.
Funny, with the sweet smell, my missus said "I can smell maple syrup!" just before disaster struck. I'm hoping I havent damaged the engine as I drive it maybe 8km from where I'm guessing the failure happened, though I pulled over within seconds of getting the overheating warning and there was no burning smell, just a lot of steam for a minute.
A temperature change might trigger the timing of the failure, but I don't think the hard drive is to blame. It just happens. When my F-Pace went, I was just a mile from the house and stopped at a light. I caught the faint sweet smell and headed home. In my case, no overheating and no low coolant warning, but that's probably just because I noticed it early. I drove it to the dealer the next day with 2 jugs of water and kept a close eye on the engine temp, but it made the 25 mile trip without an issue. BTW, that was on the 2017 at age 4.75 and it got the redesigned JLR plastic pipes under warranty. Meanwhile, the 2014 still has the original pipes, but I have a set of the aluminum ones on hand, just in case.
I have no evidence, but I do wonder if hard driving could be one thing that ultimately triggers the failure event. These pipes often fail at the flange, and as they become brittle over time the movement of the motor (especially if motor mounts are a little tired) may stress these pipes to the point where they fail. Hard driving is not the root cause but it may be possible its the last straw.
My missus - who we call "the car whisperer" because her completely random guesses about mechanical things are more often right than wrong - suggested as much and I think there could be something in it too. Either that or the brief hard acceleration made the cooling system work overtime, a bit like someone with clogged arteries running a marathon.
@BruceTheQuail I love the artery analogy! Glad you were able to stop quickly and shut down before the heads warped. You are the newest member of the coolant pipe upgrade club now, and we expect a full report back with your findings!
I do wonder about driving these older F-Types hard. No more WOT for me, like these guys - funny but tragic video - thanks @OzXFR :
Coolant pipe failure likely?
