Hello, this is my first post here, and i need help on a couple things. First off, i have an 02 jag. X-type 2.5..... I am replacing the water pump and the thermostat this weekend due to leaking/overheating. Now when i replace the water pump, and drain the coolant, could i just put the same coolant back in? The car has 77,000 miles on it. I'm asking this because the dealership wants to charge me 50 bucks for coolant!! Seems a little steep to me, or if i replace the coolant, is there any cheaper alternative like gm dex cool i could use? Or do i absolutely have to use the jaguar coolant type? What could go wrong? Engine failure? Thanks very much for any help, i really appreciate it!!

 

Cory, while I will admit that the jaguar specific coolant does have a few additional additives over the more conventional coolants, the additional price isn't warranteed in my mind and will not cause any problems if you use a non-Jaguar coolant.

With that being said, make sure that you flush out as much of the old coolant as possible. Re-using coolant is a bad, bad idea as the possibility of introducing something into the system to create all sorts of havoc is pretty substantial.

I have changed the coolant on my car and I used Prestone anti-freeze. I bought the non-diluted stuff and then mixed in my own distilled water. Using distilled water will help with the health of the coolant system as you won't have as many ions in the system, leading to additional corrosion. Besides, distilled water is cheap and for that little bit of insurance of the system, well worth it in my book.

Another thing that you will hear people talk about is venting the system properly. If you read the Jaguar service manuals, they talk about pinching off a hose, letting the car run and then unpinching the hose. This is supposed to help push the air out of the block. I didn't do that and haven't had any issues with the car. The coolant system on this car recircs part of the coolant back to the overflow bottle, so, the ability to get air out of the system is very good without going to the additional measures.

 

Hey thermo, i was trying to contact you, as you seem to be very very knowledgeable... I put you as a reference as to why i joined... Just one more question.. Did you use dexcool or green prestone? Or does prestone even sell dexcool? Thanks very very much

 

Cory, I used the universal orange stuff. The outside of the bottle just says that it is Prestone Extended Life. There is also a sticker on the bottle that says it can be mixed with any color antifreeze. You will need a gallon of coolant (not the 50/50 stuff) and a gallon of distilled water. Other wise, you will need 2 gallons of the 50/50 mix. Getting a little bit extra might be worthwhile if you try to get all that you can out of the car when doing the coolant change.

As for my knowledge, I have spent more years working on cars than I care to admit to. So, some of it is gained knowledge over the years, other knowledge comes from my willingness to pretty much try anything. Stick around, learn what you can and share what you feel you can.

 

I have intended to try valvoline maxlife coolant, because of good quality and long using period, I'm going to flush system and open water pump to check out condition...

 

Thanks alot thermo, i'm going to replace the water pump at 2 pacific this sunday.... I have your post on how to replace the pump and thermostat, so i will try it out.... Thanks alot for all the help. I will let you know how it goes!!

 

I opened my water pump, because of overheating issue and to me It looks pretty good, what you think http://gallery.photo.net/photo/11290932-lg.jpg

I also opened thermostat and drained system, let's see if theres any improved cooling...

 

Blackcat. at long as the fins on the pump have a nice edge to them, you should be good when it comes to the pump. NOrmally when the pumps start to go, it is pretty obvious that it was starting to go. Not to ask a silly question, but when is the car overheating. If it is overheating when you have it parked, it isn't the cooling system at all. Odds are, it is the fan controller mounted right there in front of the battery box. Those are known for going out and causing overheating issues. If it is overheating when on the road at cruising speed, then you are on the right track. But then, if the spring on the thermostat starts to fail (can't detect it normally), that can lead to overheating issues at road speed.

Wish you luck and let me know anything more that you think might be helpful. We will get your kitty off of its fever.

 

Blackcat. at long as the fins on the pump have a nice edge to them, you should be good when it comes to the pump. NOrmally when the pumps start to go, it is pretty obvious that it was starting to go. Not to ask a silly question, but when is the car overheating. If it is overheating when you have it parked, it isn't the cooling system at all. Odds are, it is the fan controller mounted right there in front of the battery box. Those are known for going out and causing overheating issues. If it is overheating when on the road at cruising speed, then you are on the right track. But then, if the spring on the thermostat starts to fail (can't detect it normally), that can lead to overheating issues at road speed.

Wish you luck and let me know anything more that you think might be helpful. We will get your kitty off of its fever.

 

I have refused to admit that fan module could be broken because it sounds like lots of money... What this module does and what it does wrong when it's broken?
I suppose it measures radiators temperature and makes fans to blow...

My fans are blowing almost all the time, maybe I have to take hood out to get rid of the heat.

Thanks Thermo your encouraging words...

 

Were you down or out of coolant (might be a blown head gasket or a leaking radiator or hose or heater core) Also a bad thermostat (you can check the thermostst by putting it in hot water and see if it opens) . You should do a pressure test on the system as if there are any leaks that will show it. Lastly if it only was running hot you might want to use a mechanical temp guage (very accurate)

 

No I haven't been with low level with coolant and engine heats only when running a very low speed or stopped, I haven't let it get too hot, it cools when I put heater in hi position, but I'd like to enjoy sauna only at saturdays and with cool shower, not in my car on the traffic. When I drained the system, I also tested thermostat and it opened, but water was almost boiling, when I saw it opened...still it's only 6 months old. I don't know what next, maybe I have to take radiators out and clean them, maybe them are too dirty and air is not flowing enough thorough the radiator...There really is lot of magic in this car, too bad that I'm not a magician.

 

The manual I had for my XJ6 Series 3 always advised, when draining coolant prior to carrying out repairs, to set it aside for re-use. At least in those days, Jaguar engineers were mindful of not wasting perfectly good coolant

 

Blackcat, try this. Start the car and put the A/C system on the coldest temperature it will go to and turn the dash fan on the highest speed it will go. Now, open the hood. The air blowing over the engine should be a very good flow. You should feel like the air is strong enough to push your hand back. If you take a sheet of paper and hold it between your hands just above the engine, the paper should be blowing straight back towards the windshield. If you are just getting a little bit of air, then that pretty much confirms the bad engine cooling fan controller. The only other thing it could be at that point is a bad ECU. If you think the price of a new fan controller is bad, then don't look at a new ECU.

If you need anything else, let me know.

 

To be honest I don't know the price, but all these electrical things are, Ok Thermo sounds like you are right with that fan controller, it doesn't blow more than what I can experience when bicycling... Is it possible to open and examine this aluminum box, whats wrong with it, or is it also sealed for short life. I wonder why there's no any fault codes coming on... I suppose I have to start seek one of those controllers. BTW is it same with all models, mine is 3.0 petrol?

 

Blackcat, all the X-Types use the same controller (2.5L petrol, 3.0L petrol, and the 2.0/2.1L diesel). So, if you can find one off of an X-Type, you are good to go

As for opening up the controller and fixing it yourself, one member has opened it up and I have seen pics of what it looks like on the inside. The big issue he is having is finding the replacement parts. Essentially, what you are going to need to replace is the 4 high current transistors and then a few capacitors. Probably about 2 hours of soldering/desoldering. Probably run you about $30 USD for the parts. If you have soldering ability, this sort of job should be fairly easy.

As for why you are not getting any fault codes, as far as the car sees things, it is working fine. So, it won't throw any codes at you.

What you are describing sounds like a bad controller. If your hair is even semi long (3+ cm), it should be blowing it around as you are looking in the engine bay and the fans are running. What I am visualizing is just a soft breeze. So, sounds like you have found your problem.

 

Blackcat, all the X-Types use the same controller (2.5L petrol, 3.0L petrol, and the 2.0/2.1L diesel). So, if you can find one off of an X-Type, you are good to go

As for opening up the controller and fixing it yourself, one member has opened it up and I have seen pics of what it looks like on the inside. The big issue he is having is finding the replacement parts. Essentially, what you are going to need to replace is the 4 high current transistors and then a few capacitors. Probably about 2 hours of soldering/desoldering. Probably run you about $30 USD for the parts. If you have soldering ability, this sort of job should be fairly easy.

As for why you are not getting any fault codes, as far as the car sees things, it is working fine. So, it won't throw any codes at you.

What you are describing sounds like a bad controller. If your hair is even semi long (3+ cm), it should be blowing it around as you are looking in the engine bay and the fans are running. What I am visualizing is just a soft breeze. So, sounds like you have found your problem.

 

Definitely air flow is way too weak to blow any of those few hairs I still have( looking like homer simpson). There is one controller here for sale, so I think it's great idea to get that into my car and fix that scorched controller in peace and I have my car in use at the same time. Tomorrow I have to go local English history car garage to get codes to read, I got today amber light and engine symbol on my instrument panel... but thanks so far and lets see what happens next.