The Dreaded Coolant Leak
 

This weekend I went for a "spirited" 4-5 hour run through some twisty roads with a group of like minded drivers. 3 F's 2 Vettes and a Porsche. After letting the engine cool down in the driveway I fired it up to run to the store. I got condensation on my windshield then it quickly went away with the defrost on. I don't smell any coolant and there was no residue on the windshield that I saw. I checked the coolant level in the expansion tank and it is low. Not empty, but close.

I don't smell any coolant under the hood and don't see any pools/puddles anywhere. And no signs of leaks from the expansion tank.

I do have what I think are the original coolant pipes So I plan on replacing those with the upgraded aluminum pipes(Cooling system kit) from Euro AMP. The kit is out of stock but I was told they have most parts available. I will try to make a video of removing them without taking the supercharger off. I don't think anyone has posted one yet. Still not sure if it's possible.
I do have a few questions.
1. Do the gaskets for the supercharger need to be replaced? Both upper and lower gaskets.
2. Should I think about new belts. Car has 68K miles
3. The brass elbow and bleeder screw plug are out of stock. Are these critical to replace at this time? Can they be done without removing the supercharger?
4. Is the oil cooler pipe a high failure item? I'm in there, might as well do it. Out of stock but available other places.

Any other info before I get started ordering things is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Scott

Prior to replacing parts, perform a cooling system pressure test to determine the source(s) of any leak. After a cold soak, preferably overnight, use a tester to pressurise the system to 1 bar. If the gauge indicates a loss of pressure, inspect the hoses, connections and pipes for leaks.

Replace any gaskets between parts removed to avoid having air leaks resulting in DTCs setting.

Replace the serpentine belts whilst removed.

Here are my two cents:
I bet your upper or lower coolant pipe or some other pipe is leaking slowly and perhaps burning off. It should not be low, but fill up and see if it drops again
You don't need the bleeder screw, as these kits are compatible with multiple JLR platforms, the bleeder screw they provided does not work for our cars.
You do not need to replace the upper gasket for the SC, it can be reused.
You DO need to replace the lower gaskets for the SC housing, one for each side
Brass elbow is doable after the fact, but it can be a pain as the original plastic one is known to break off inside and you need some room to extract the broken pieces out and get the washer put back into place.
I would go ahead and replace the belts, they are cheap and seeing you are "in there" why not.
I have not heard of many failures related to the oil pipe.

@NBCat I do plan on renting a pressure tester before taking anything apart. Belts are cheep. Might as well replace.

Thanks.

@skizot Thanks for the info. I've seen others replacing the oil cooler pipe. Thought it might be a failure point. I'll be sure to pick up a set of lower supercharger gaskets. Belts will get done also. Hopefully its not the "elbow" that is leaking and can do it at a later time.

Thank you.
Scott

@NBCat @skizot
If not leaking, are the other components worth replacing at this time? I.E. Water pump, thermostat housing, heater manifold, etc. etc...
Thanks.

When our indie mechanic did the aluminum coolant pipe kit, he insisted on changing all the other plastic not included from EuroAMP . IE, the thin plastic line from the coolant reservoir to the water pump...Some stuff needed to be sourced from JLR. Several hoses were replaced 'while he was in there'.

We were glad we got the water pump in our kit, because it was leaking.

We only lost a few oz. a year...
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...0f1e84fbe.jpeg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...a51ac48ac.jpeg

Finally tackling the project
 

I Finally started removing parts from the engine to gain access to the supercharger. All was going well until I found one seized bolt. It is one of the two long bolts on the front of the charge cooler on the passenger side. It looks like coolant has been leaking onto the bottom of the bolt where the threads are and caused some corrosion. The bolt is now seized pretty good.

My question is this; does this long bolt screw into the supercharger case only or does it go into the engine block? Watching a video of a V6 supercharger removal I did not see any bolt holes in the top of the engine so I'm assuming these are the same. I might have to cut the head of the bolt off so I can get the charge cooler off and hopefully get some vice grips on the bolt and get it out. The head had become a bit disfigured while trying to get the bolt out.😖
I've been soaking the threads with PB Blaster for a while now. Hopefully it will let go tomorrow.
​​
​

Regardless of any answers you get, coat the threads of that bolt with RTV to assure that it won't leak in the future.

My admittedly poor memory tells me that this is a Good Practice on many JLR pieces.

@Carbuff2 Thanks for the advice on the RTV. However, this bolt isn't leaking coolant. The coolant leaked onto the bolt and got down into the threads and caused corrosion. Having looked closer at the other long bolt, it looks like it does indeed screw into the engine. I might have to cut the head off, remove the charge cooler and then carefully lift the supercharger up and off the long bolt so I can get a better grip on it.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...a820abdd50.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...ab10a160d2.jpg

Would a screw extractor have a chance of working? I’d probably try that first, as you obviously plan to scrap the bolt.

I don't think so. The bolt is so long it twists before you get any movement at the bottom. The bolt is going to be replaced as the head is too far gone at this point. I think the best option is doing what I said before. take the head off and (hopefully) remove the supercharger leaving the bolt sticking out of the block so I can get a good grip on it closer to the bottom so it doesn't twist and snap off.

If you drill the head off try to use a LH drill bit. I have had very good luck as the vibration and drilling forces are all trying to turn the bolt in the right direction and sometimes just drilling the head will loosen up the stuck threads.

I use a home brew of 50/50 Acetone and transmission fluid as a penetrant. I also like Kroil but it's fairly expensive compared to the home made stuff. I put the 50/50 mixture in a re-chargeable metal spray container.
.
.
.

The bolt head finally gave out. I think the bolt was starting to give way but the head gave out first. So I drilled the head off. I was able to get the charge air cooler off no problem. Currently trying to get some coolant hoses off. The ones attached to the water pump and thermostat. I'm sucking out the coolant as I go so I don't have a big mess on the floor.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...3998c67ee3.jpg

Net time you have a problem like you had try one of these. They almost always work. Hammering the driver forces the bit into the stuck bolt/screw and shocks the threads at the same time to break them free.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-To...QzYWio8P15swPI

Yep. Tried hammering the bit in. Unfortunately these bolts are a bit soft. AND it was 6 inches long so most if not all the impact was absorbed by the shaft of the bolt. I applied much PB Blaster AND Kroil to the base of the bolt where the threads are. I let it soak overnight. Tried again today. No joy. I got tired of fighting a losing battle and went in for the kill. Done! Head is off. Charge air cooler is now off. On to getting the other bits and pieces off and replaced with the new stuff.

The tool I showed doesn't just hammer the bit into the head (to prevent stripping the head) it also turns while shocking the threads to loosen the fastener at the same time (hence its called an impact driver). That is why it's so good at solving this type of issue. It has saved my bacon many times.

BTW forgive me if you already tried to use this type of tool and it failed.

Watch this video same engine I've done a F-type and xj ,just to help keep your car from problems

What is the best way to get the supercharger unstuck. I don't want to pry up too hard on anything and break it. There really isn't much room to get a pry bar in without it resting on something plastic. Can I lift up on the pulley end? There seem to be enough bolts holding it on.

I've done it quite a few times and what worked for me was 2 pry bars with a slice of wood on the plastic then slide the pry bars on each side and rock back and forth then it should pop, I should have shown how I did it in the video ,but you'll get, it for sure