Did the 90,000-mile service on my 2005 S-Type 3.0 this morning. Started the job as soon as the sun was up enough to see in order to avoid as much heat and humidity as possible, but was 100% sweat-soaked before I even finished dropping the belly pan. Man, how I despise car maintenance and repairs during our miserable summer months....

Glad I took a good look at my rear brake pads before finishing up my tire rotation. They're down to the last millimeter of pad material and I caught them just in time. No chirping or warning of any kind. Ordered a new rear set of Wagner ThermoQuiet semi-metallic pads from rockauto.com, the same rear pads I last put on in August 2011. Getting sweat-drenched again early next week replacing the rear pads will be miserable but worth it....

No engine oil, ATF, coolant, brake fluid, power steering, windshield washer fluid, or refrigerant leaks anywhere. The belly pan was bone-dry. The two ZF shifter cable bolts were still snug from the last time I checked them in April. Knocked on wood and buttoned everything back up....

 

Good work Jon!

I willbe sweating it out too, on Saturday morning: intake off, cam cover gaskets, intake o rings, imt orings, plugs, coils, all cooling hoses, etc etc... And thats just the beginning of my list!

Looking forward to it though!!! .)

 

That's an ambitious plan. Hope everything goes 100% perfect for you....

I don't mind doing these jobs when it is 20 degrees outside. 90 degrees kills me, though....

I'm sick of this summer heat and humidity. Bring on October....

 

Whatever you do, get a new OEM cap for the coolant reservoir. It controls the pressure for the whole cooling system and when it doesn't release excess pressure anymore, everything breaks from too much pressure! The cheapest and easiest part to replace is also one of the most important, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble if I knew this sooner.

 

I had to replace the original coolant reservoir cap on my wife's 2006 XK8 earlier this year so I know what you mean....

My 2005 S-Type's coolant reservoir and cap were replaced in August 2009, so they are not original. I continue to check them routinely and thus far they're still holding up....

One must know where the numerous weak spots in these cars are in order to keep them in proper running order as the years pass....

 

Thanks for the tip on the cap.. How do you know the cap is failing ?

 

You know the cap is failing when the coolant level in the expansion tank no longer returns overnight to where you consistently keep it and you know you have no leaks anywhere in the cooling system....

 

Jon, Amen to your last paragraph in post #5!

Thats what makes this forum soooo valuable!

I can't fathom what the everyday person does with one of these cars if they're ignorant of these cars' quirks, are not on this or another Jag forum , and is not a DIY'er! I guess they drive blissfully ignorant, until the car just dies, isn't worth fixing, and just move on, meanwhile we're concerned, and know about every nook and cranny on these cars! Lol

BTW thanks Catmobile for the reservoir cap info, duly noted!

 

I don't think the average everyday person would be willing to keep these cars beyond the original factory warranty period unless they have unlimited funds and don't mind spending a fortune to pay someone else to keep the car running for them....

 

The best way to check if the system has too much pressure is with a device that tees into a coolant line and measures the pressure. Or you can get a basic idea by feel. With my car when it was up to temperature the main coolant line on the top was hard to the touch and hard to squeeze. I thought that this was normal since it always was like that, but it isn't. Since I got a new cap that actually works, when the car is up to temperature you can easily squeeze the main hose when it's running, like every other car I had.