I have to replace the coolant expansion tank on my 2002 X-type 2.5, I have ordered the replacement part (OEM) and it just arrived, I was wondering if there are any special tricks/pitfalls to this job that I should watch out for.

I have worked on the cooling system before replacing the thermostat, water pump, water pump drive gear and belt, and all hoses.

 

Nothing really special. have a gallon of pre-mix coolant standing by to refill what is lost. After that, things are pretty straight forward. Nothing to trick you into making a mistake. Biggest problem will be breaking the hoses loose from the tank. But, that is pretty easy to overcome.

 

this is simple to replace, 10 min job.

 

I just repalced mine last week. The hardest part about was finding the part.

 

The most important thing you are going to do with the replacement is to rotate the clip on the upper hose downwards towards the ground. The reason that these tanks get broken is that the clip was put on facing the hood and after time, a small bump will make the hood contact the clip and break the coolant expansion tank.

Straight forward, but turn that clip downwards with some needle nose!

 

Regarding the top left hose clamp on expansion tank: I had a slight leak coming from that connection. I changed the cap, just in case it was retaining too much pressure, and it still leaked. I pulled off the hose and noticed that the flange at the end of the nipple didn't go all the way around. It didn't look like it had broken off, just made that way. Can anyone confirm that the flange doesn't go all the way around? Meanwhile, I bought srew-tighten clamp and that has stopped the leak, but I had to put it pretty tight to stop it. There was a lot of black residue on the nipple from the hose, so I believe it was the decomposing of the hose that brought on the leak...

 

The flange on the OEM replacement tank I bought does go all the way around, but Jaguar may have made a change during the production run. When replacing my tank I did notice that the years (Mine is a 2002) and the Mileage (I have 197,000) did make the nipples very brittle, that is what broke off the tank on my car. If you are the least bit concerned get a replacement as it took a week for me to get one. (I ordered mine off Amazon.com for $125)

I also want to add, my old tank was leaking before the nipple broke completely off and I thought it was a worn o-ring on the cap so I replaced the cap, 3 weeks later the nipple broke. I don't know if replacing the cap had anything to do with it, but that was the replacement order.

 

JDP: Thanks for sharin your experience. After thoroughly inspecting everything, the nipple flange doesn't go all the way around on this one. The black residue that I rubbed off seemed like residue from the hose (I guess 8 years of connection could leave a residue), but I am watching this hose/nipple/tank very closely now

 

Hi guys,

I had the same experience as JDP. Hairline crack on the small plastic nipple. Did not see the crack at first, thought a screw clamp had it fixed.
However, instead of a new tank, I drilled and tapped, 1/8" NPT. Bought a brass 1/8NPT X 5/16" hose barb at autoparts store. Sealed with Loc-tite stic&seal Ultra. The hose covers the brass so you can't tell its there. Total cost of the repair (materials) was about $10 dollars. Add another ten if you have to buy the drill and tap. Also, did it in place to avoid draining coolant, removing hose, etc.

Still fine after two/three thousand miles.

Was looking for a nice four-door when I found my X-type. I thought it was a small "economy" car!

best regards,

Bill

 

I've replaced mine and it was really easy, my clip on the left side was broken as well and was leakin. Nothing special I needed, it was a quick 10 minute job.

 

Bill, I made the same repair with one exception that I removed the tank to drill and tap the plastic. I was smelling coolant with very little signs of a leak. Once I found the crack in the plastic nipple i figured I could go "old school" with this repair. 2000 miles with zero further issues!

 

Hey everyone, I haven't been here for a while. In January i was having coolant leak with my jaguar x type 3.0 2002. I had to save, and took it to the dealer. It cost me over 1,000, with my own parts from Jaguar (coolant resavior, and water pump. I replaced both parts, expeciall with the water pump with 75,000 miles. It was a pretty big chump for me. I had to let it rest for 3 months, The problem started Christmas weekend,
but it has been working since. I have been really driving it a little hard, it has been running really good. I really appreciate all of the suggestion recieved about the cause of the problem.

 

Thanks Bill, this pointer saved me having the vehicle laid up waiting for parts - discounting the hours on public transit between stores looking for 1/8" NPT to 5/16" barb brass fitting, 1/8" NPT tap and 11/32" drill bit (for those in Hamilton, ON, Canada; Princess Auto = fail, Home Hardware = fail, Lowes = fail, however Canadian Tire = success).

The plastic on the tank tends to close a bit when drill bit is removed, after a couple of minutes trying to tap by hand with little advancement, I simply placed the tap in my cordless drill, slow speed, medium torque, takes about a second to do. Place drill in reverse and run the drill backwards to remove. Brass fitting fits snug and insure the pipe clip tangs are not upright when done.

Done without removing from the vehicle. Topped up with new coolant and working well in presently hot and humid early summer weather.

A search on ebay shows replacement tanks from $42 with free shipping in US, use a cross border holding company (cbiusa.com/) and pick up your item in the US for significant cost savings

Cheers chaps, JaguarForums.com community strikes again

Best regards
/c

 

I replaced my reservoir about a year back; the nipple had broke on mine as well...I bought mine here. Though I'm pretty sure it can be found cheaper on places like ebay, the two day shipping was quite nice.

The job itself is relatively easy, even for those who aren't mechanically inclined. The dealer here quoted two hours of labor for the job, which is total BS. I also replaced the cheap OEM plastic clamps with some stainless steel hose clamps, and I haven't had any issues since.

 

Hello Carlstev,
Thanks for the feedback. It's great to know that those small contributions help.
Best regards,
Bill

 

I replaced mine with simple tools a extra coolant in about 25 min with no problems.