Don't know if this problem has been posted before but here it goes.....

I just bought a 2003 x type 2.5L yesterday for my son's first car, the coolant starts running out from between the engine and firewall somewhere and I can't tell where, are there any sort of coolant hoses or pipes or fittings etc. Back there? We are going to start looking at it, but I wanted to ring some bells and see if any of you jaguar faithful had any input on what to look at.

Like I said it will start pouring out as I pour it in, and it's coming from the back of the engine like right in the middle, but I can't see back there at all and I'm just wondering what part of the cooling system is back there if any or if we are looking at head gaskets or cracked block? It starts and runs and drives fine, no mixing with oil or anything. Thoughts?

 

First off, welcome to the Forums. I think you are going to like it here. Lots of friendly people and we pride ourselves in being a better car club. As part of this, we like to get to know you too. So, please stop by the New Member section and introduce yourself. there you will meet the people that make this place what it is.

As for your problem: Coolant Expansion Tank!!!!!!! Common problem with the X-Types. There is a coolant hose that runs along the firewall and taps into the tank just under the black topper of the tank. This will get hit at some point and what we have found is the plastic gets brittle over time. You will develop a crack in the tank and it will leak out like you are seeing. Sometimes the nipple will completely sheer off of the tank. The hose is a 1/4" (maybe a 3/8") ID hose and it taps in on the left side of the tank. If you remove the tank, you will see where the nipple should be. If the tank appears good, be looking for "white hairs" in the plastic. We have had a few also develop cracks in the middle of the tank that open up with a little bit of pressure. As for a fix. most will tell you to spend the extra few dollars and get a new tank. This will save you some heartache in the future. Some members have drilled out the nipple and put in their own brass fitting and glued up the nipple to make it able to hold pressure. But, you still have the brittle plastic in there that can fail other ways. But, the cost is much less. If you look at this e-bay sale, a new tank is about $60. New Engine Coolant Reservoir For 2002-2008 Jaguar X-Type 6 Cyl 3.0L with Cap | eBay

Since you are new to the X-Type, a few other things to pay attention to as if you are going to have problems, these will be the first that you will play with:
-The Big 3: There are 3 spots that develop vacuum leaks. The PCV hose, the IMT valve o-rings, and the intake to brake booster hose. This will be seen by a P0171 and/or a P0174 engine code.
- Rear suspension: the bushings on the upper arms and the lower/forward arms wear out and will cause the rear tires to not sit up straight and/or not point straight ahead. As you can imagine, this eats up a tire pretty quickly. If replacing the upper arm, look up "Thermo arm" and you will find tons of good info. I found a replacement that corrects a lot of issues.
- Rear calipers: This is a hit and miss thing it appears with these cars. The e-brake lever(s) can stick due to corrosion and this causes the e-brake not to release and not adjust itself. It is easy to check for. Simply apply the e-brake. If the lever feels like it is going all the way to the ceiling, you have a stuck lever. If it comes up about 4-5 inches and stops part way, you are good. Again, I did a write up and if you look up "rebuilding rear caliper", I go into a lot more detail about this.
- Rotting door sills. If you see bubbling paint in the door sills, bingo. Unfortunately, this is kinda terminal on this car as it is a unibody design and normally the cost of the repair to fix the door sills is more than the car is worth. If you do spend the money, you are going to have a car that will last a long, long time. But, are you willing to invest into the car.
- Transfer case: you have the earlier viscous coupled transfer case. There were some issues with it which seemed to stem from the factory. By this point, if it was going to fail, it should have. In short, the bearings were installed with too much pre-load. So, when you did quick bursts/accelerations say between stop lights, it put too much load on the bearings and they failed. In some cases, the transfer case itself cracked. So, not saying not to do hard accelerations with the car, but there are known issues. This is one of those replacements that at this point in the cars life, it may be more than the car is worth.
- carrier bearing: There is a bearing on the rear drive shaft. As it gets worn out, it will develop a "hum" at 55-65 mph and will feel like it is coming from under the drivers seat. If you take a grease gun with a needle attachment (use termaline grease) and squirt some into the bearing, you can make the hum go away for awhile. Eventually you will need to replace this bearing. But, that is a quick way to check.
- shaking front steering wheel: if you feel that the steering wheel is shaking, your front end alignment is off just a little bit. This will result in excessive wear of the front tires. Get the car aligned and all is good.

I know what you are probably thinking right now, "What the hell did I get myself into". I am listing all the major problems wiht this car. Most are very easy to fix if you have basic DIY skills. We can even help you find the parts for pretty cheap. I guess we are almost too honest about the car. But, I would rather see you go into this car with eyes wide open and fix the problems early than to let them build up and then get hit with a major bill when a simple problem as destroyed something else.

If you have a question, use the Search Tool and you will more than likely find your answer within the first few posts you look at. If you can't find it, then ask away. If you have a question about anything, please ask. What you are thinking, someone has probably pondered the same thing and found the answer.

 

To piggyback Thermo’s response, the tanks are also available through Amazon new for about $60 as well. Free shipping with prime, and usually get it in a couple of days.

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dorman-60...6?from=/search