hi all,

i just joined this site and have been searching on my subject to no avail..........i bought the wife a new X-type in 2004.
it's 3.0 and has about 57K on the clock and other than 2 driveline, 1 transmission replacements, the car has been solid, and most enjoyable.
i drive a 07' chevy silverado, but the Jag is always the "go to" car when we go out.

lately during this winter season we have been smelling a somewhat peculiar odor coming from the vents when the heater is on. it mostly happens when sitting at the traffic light and goes away once we are back up to speed.

any ideas you may have that i should be looking at, please let me know.
oh yes, the odor almost has a butane kind of smell to it..........

 

thx aquill,

yeah i think this is a real oddball. it only happens with the heater on.

 

well i found the problem.........and it wasn't till the little booger blew that i was able to see it in full.
first i found that the brake reservoir cap was split at the top of the threads....replaced, but still had the odor, but to a lesser extent.
what finally blew was the cheap (but expensive to replace) expansion tank (Ford's little joke to us all?).
of the 3 connections, the lower was fine, and the one exiting on the drivers side was fine, but the nipple pointing towards the passenger side blew clean off.
being the weekend and all, and the college kid needing to use the car or my brand new Black Sliverado, i decided to try a fix.
what i did was to heat the tank with an industrial heat gun, and then heat a piece of 1/4 pipe with threaded end, and carefully insert and thread this pipe into the existing hole. all went well, and then i roughed up the tank and proceded to JB weld the entire area by building up 3 coats and making a fillet around the new nipple.......i used the Black weld and after driving on and off for the better part of this morning, it is holding fine.
i won't leave it as a permanent fix, but only till it shows signs of leaking, of which i'll have a new tank ready to go in.

i do want to thank you all for your suggestions, and i also wanted to give you an update.

 

Zactly.......the tank is held in with one bolt.............by cheap i mean it should last longer than 4 years and 55K miles.
even as i was repairing it i noticed small cracks developing in the lower core.
i have also never had a brake fluid cap split it's top off on any other car i've owned.
a little history on the car, it has had 3 drivelines, 2 wheels and the transmission replaced..........interior problems have been the typical, popped up vents, armrest fell apart, A pillar cloth has delaminated, passenger air bag replaced (faulty)..........i love Jags, but this car is not what i expected as a Jag product.

 

yes the light stayed on, but only when it wanted to...other times it would function properly........they replaced the sensor under the seat..........worked for a week, then started acting up..........they replaced everything that had to do with the bag and what not.......been fine since.
i do realize that all cars may have a quirk or 2, but this car has seen the shop so many times that all the mechanics know me by name..........the wife too