Hi all

I've noticed that the fan on my X-type seems to be excessively loud and takes several minutes to stop after I've switched off the ignition. This doesn't happen all the time, but I've noticed it a few times over the last month or so. Going by other threads, it sounds like it might be the thermostat switch, coolant levels, or a bearing in the fan.

2 questions - how do you top up the coolant levels? I read somewhere that there isn't a radiator cap on the X-type. Is there a simple way of topping up the resevoir? - Apologies if this is a really stupid question - I'm not too familiar with cars....

2nd question - how long can I let this problem run? The car is due a service in a month, so thought I could ask them to take a look when it goes in. But I don't want to risk causing any serious or costly damage by leaving it for a few weeks.....

Any help would be much appreciated

 

Techy, to check/add coolant, open the hood of your car and look near the back corner of the engine bay on the right side (as you are facing the car). You will see a white container sitting there near the strut mount. That white plastic tank is your overflow bottle. You will see a screw on cap. Remove the cap and refill to the proper level. Just be careful if you are removing this cap with the engine warm (not advisable to remove just after turning the car off). As long as the coolant level is near where it should be, driving the car longer should not be a problem. It is possible you have broken/cracked the hose connection on the bottle (look on the front edge of the bottle near the bottom). There is a hose that comes off and this is a weak spot and tends to fail, resulting in an empty coolant bottle and conditions like you are experiencing. If this is the case, as long as you can keep coolant in the bottle, you can drive a little longer. But this is one of those things that it won't get better, so, repairing sooner than later is needed.

 

Thanks very much Thermo -this is really useful. I'll have a look tonight. If I'm low on coolant, is there a specific type that I need to use?

 

Techy, look at the outside of the overflow bottle. Is the liquid level green in color or orange? Go to your local auto parts store and buy the appropriate color coolant. In short, if they call it "Dex-cool" it will be orange, if they just call it anti-freeze, then it will be green. Talk with the guys at the parts store and they should be able to help you match up the color. You can run into issues if you mix different colors together. There are some that are labeled as "compatible with all coolants". I haven't tried them, but I haven't heard anything negative about them. So, I will remain mute on them.

hope this helps.

 

had same thing a week ago. coolant level was low added some more coolant problem gone...

 

Hi all and thanks for your responses.

As suggested, I checked my coolant levels last night and the resevoir was almost empty, bar a bit of orangey sludge at the bottom! I went out and bought the correct coolant according to my Jag handbook, along with some de-ionised water and topped it up. I also added a small amount of radiator conditioner - similar to the stuff on the link below:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/BARS-COOLING...4712727&sr=1-1

The problem certainly seems to have been resolved which is good, but I'm baffled as to why the resevoir was empty in the first place! I checked the hose for leaks but couldn't find anything and it's attached securely (it seems) to the resevoir tank so no problems there. Guess I'll just have to keep checking it regularly to make sure that the levels aren't going down too quickly....

 

Techy, check the lower connection. I bet you will find that it is cracked and it is leaking out of it. Common problem with our cars. The fix is easy, but it will cost about $100 as I recall for the new tank unless you can find it from a wrecking yard.

 

Thanks Thermo - you've been really helpful. Is it best checking this when the engine is cold, or should I take the car for a spin first and then check?

 

Techy, the easiest way I know to check this is to simply look down between the coolant bottle and the battery at the top of the tranny. A lot of times you can see coolant resting there. You can also start up the engine and let it come up to temp and then look under the car near where the front driver's tire is. If you see something green/orange (depending on the color coolant you have in the car) dripping down on the ground, then you have confirmed your leak.

Don't just look there though. You can potentially have a leak somewhere else (water pump, coolant hose, etc). make sure to have your A/C off so you don't confuse yourself since water will drip from the car when the A/C is running (this is normal). But, if you see water dripping near the front passenger corner of the car, you have a radiator leak (the ends of the radiator have cracked). If you are dripping coolant from near the front driver's corner, cracked radiator/possible bad radiator hose (follow leak back) or a bad water pump (bad pump normally also shows its ugly head as highway driving overheat conditions when the pump has been ignored for way too long).

Hopefully this gives you some things to look at and figure out where your issue is.

 

Thermo, I have some water like liquid dripping from right under the engine block, its not the color of the coolant. How do I check what this is ?

 

psuedo, I would tell you to stop the car, let some of the fluid leak down and form a small puddle on the ground and then move the car do you can touch the fluid.

NOw, you may laugh, but have you been running your A/C or defrost a lot lately? I am willing to bet that you are starting to experience a little bit of clogging in the drain line of the dash heating/cooling system and what you are seeing is water leaking on to the ground at the rear edge of the engine.

Now, back to determining what is your problem. Look at the fluid:

-if clear, coming from the center of the car near where the firewall/engine meet, A/C system condensing water. This is normal for your car.
-if blue in color, coming from the area of the passenger front tire, your washer fluid bottle has developed a leak. Need a new washer bottle.
-if green or orange in color, it is an anti-freeze leak. Due to the number of coolant hoses and where all coolant runs, a detail inspection of the car is needed
-if a red fluid, especially coming from the area of the driver's front tire, you have a tranny fluid leak.
-if the fluid is gray in color and has a fowl smell to it, your transfer case has developed a leak
-if the fluid is pretty black, you have an oil leak. This will tend to come from the front edge of the engine normally. A good cleaning of the engine will be needed to determine where the fluid is starting from. Then a fix can be applied.