I'm planning on changing the dual climate control valve (along with the coolant expansion tank) on my 2000 3.0 this weekend. I have a few questions before I get started.

1) Another member (rtcosic) posted a question on another thread about the hoses and how to disconnect them, but never received a reply. Could somebody please reply with an answer. This seems like a pretty important question for this repair.

2) I'm going to the local dealer this week to pick up some Jag coolant. How much should I buy? Do I mix the Jag cooling 50/50 with water?

3) The JTIS states the coolant refill capacity is 2.8 gallons (10.5) for the 3.0 engine. Is this correct?

Thanks in advance!

 

Changing the heater control valve on a 3.0 is straight forward and easily accessible. Remove the hoses from the metal pipes rather than the heater valve, it's much easier that way. They should be color coded so you can't screw it up. One should have a green band on it which matches a green band on the pipe. Sometimes the band falls off of the hose, if this is the case just mark them before removal. Push the hoses further on to the pipe to take the tension off of the plastic retainer clips. Press in on one side of the clip and start to pull the hose off with a rocking motion. You should be able to feel when it has started to come over the pipe flange, dont pull too hard, then press in on the other side of the clip and the hose should pull off eith little effort. There is a feel to it and you can usually easily feel when the clip has released. After you have the 2 outlet hoses removed from the pipes remove the one 8mm screw that holds the valve to the fan shroud, pull the valve free of the shroud, pull up on the red safety lock on the electrical connector to access the actual release for the connector. Press inwards on the release and pull the electrical connector free of the valve. Pull the valve with the remaining hose attached up to where you can get better access to the feed hose. Release tension on the hose clamp and pull the feed hose off of the valve. If the white index mark is worn or missing from the feed hose mark it so you can put it back on in the correct orientation so that the hose doesn't get kinked. Now you can pull the valve with the heater hoses attached out from under the hood. Remove the heater hoses one at a time and transfer to your new valve paying attention to orientation if the index marks are worn off. Reverse procedure to install.

As for the expansion tank remove the wiper arms from the wiper transmission. Remove the plastic clips that hold the wiper cowl to the export brace by pushing their centers down and then popping them out of their holes with a pick or pocket screwdriver. Remove the plastic covers that cover the stainless steel torx screws at the top of the wiper cowl and remove all of the screws. With a little wiggling the cowl will come free and pass between the hood hinges and struts. If you purchased your tank from a dealer it should have a replacement hose attached so that you do not have to remove the hose from the tank, just from the heater pipe at the firewall. The hose fits the pipe TIGHTLY. Release tension from the clamp and slide it up the hose to clear the end of the pipe. The clamp is lightly bonded to the hose just like your new one and will require a little wiggling and jiggling to get it free from the hose. Slice the hose with a razor knife to ease removal from the pipe. There is one small hose attached to a nipple on the side of the tank and an air bleed hose that is attached to another nipple with a rubber grommet. Remove both of these hoses paying close attention to which nipple the clamped hose is attached. Failure to put this hose on the correct nipple will dump your coolant on the ground when the car is test driven. Now is the tricky part. The tank can be removed and replaced without removing the export brace but it will take faith on your part that the tank wont be broken in the process. Remove the 10mm screws that are holding the tank being careful not to damage the rubber wiper drain panel. Bend the tab that the 10mm screw passes through towards the windshield and at the same time pull upwards on the tank to get it past the export brace while at the same time guiding the hose around the brake booster. Install the new tank by feeding the hose down around the booster and when the tank gets to the point where it wont pass the export brace because of the plastic tab bend the tab until you can force it past the brace. I've installed at least 100 expansion tanks like this and have never broken one. Reverse remaining procedures to complete the repair. If you are afraid of breaking the tank you can remove the export brace by removing 2 10mm bolts on each strut tower and 3 10mm bolts at firewall under wiper trans. The only problem with this method is that the bolts on the strut towers pass completely through into the wheel arch area and are usually so badly corroded that they wont come out and are easily broken. You can try the bolts first with a hand ratchet and see how they feel but be careful, they snap easily and without warning.

One gallon of coolant mixed 50/50 should be plenty unless you pull an engine block drain.

 

how do I get out the trapped air in the system, and how do I release the spring clamp on the large hose thats on the new reservoir once I get it on the pipe?

 

For the air, open the bleed screw in the hose that's attached to the tank with the grommet and my preference is to remove one of the hoses from the throttlebody at the same time and it will get you much closer to full than just the bleed hose at the tank.

For the clamp, I haven't found any easy foolproof way I usually smack it with a hammer and screwdriver.

Smartass!

 

I was just prempting his questions once he got into it. Very good write up, and the trick on the clamp is to stick a large flat screw driver or prybar tip under the tang and twist, pops it every time!

 

Thanks for that - not ENTIRELY sure I'd call that straightforward, but hey it's a Jaguar!

 

Thanks guys! Very much appreciated!

I just received the control valve and expansion tank today. I'm now off to pick up the coolant from the local Jag dealer (5 liters for $60, ouch!).

 

Both procedures sound more complicated than they actually are. I usually have the valve in my hands swapping hoses in about 15 minutes, experience helps of course. The bottle takes about the same amount of time. I would plan on the better part of a Saturday for a first timer, one time event both procedures at the same time. The thing that hurts most first timers is the stuff that requires the "feel" like removing the hoses from the pipes, bending the tab on the bottle etc. Once you know how it works both are easy tasks. The procedures the way I listed them are the fastest, easiest way to get the job done, following JTIS procedures plan on a whole weekend. Most critical, especially on the '00-'02 S-type is bleeding the air out. The factory bleeder leaves a lot to be desired. If you remove one of the coolant lines from the throttle body as recommended you will save yourself a lot of time in that regard. It will still require a test drive and top off but you wont be pulling over on the side of the road waiting for the temp gauge to go back down like you will just using the factory bleeder.

 

It's too bad that JTIS is so inefficient at times. There has been several instances for me that if I followed the JTIS procedures, it would have taken me 2X-3X the labor time.The good thing is that experienced guys like Real_Tech and BRUTAL are available to provide their assistance.

BTW, I have 1 more question. I was thinking about what should I used to collect the coolant when I open the coolant drain plug. My idea was to use a funnel and something like an engine oil change receptacle (then I can use that to easily transfer to coolant to 1 gallon containers). What da ya think? Then the next task will be figuring out how to dispose it.

Well, I have my weekend all planned which also includes installing new coils and plugs. On Monday, I installed new plugs and some coils (it uses the same coil over plugs design) my V8 Ford Expedition. What a PITA. The engine is set back so access to the 4 rear cylinders is quite limited. You have to use a assortment of extensions and u-joints along with a magnetic tool (to remove and reinstall the coil retaining screws) to get back there and removing everything. I looking forward to having easy access on the S-type.

Thanks again for all your help!

 

The JTIS is meant for factory trained techs. It assumes you have been to school and trained on the vehicle. There is a lot of information missing from the JTIS that is included in the school book and if you weren't trained you wouldn't know it.

I think your radiator should have a nipple at the petcock you can put a hose on and collect the coolant any way you like without making a mess.

 

Stop being all Bill Gates on me - please let me post?

 

OK that worked - will you let me quote?

 

Sorry for strange posts. I tried to write a report back and got an error message about not having access. Tried again and clicked cancel instead of preview. Gave up went to bed. Try again later

 

excellent detail! how does this procedure compare to that for a 2003 4.2? I have a very slow coolant leak (low coolant message every 2-3 months) and suspect this to be the problem.

 

03's and up are alot easier, and the v6's are the easiest