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According to the handbook, the correct coolant for your Jag is Extended Life coolant colored orange that meets [Ford] standard WSS M97B44. The most common coolant that meets this standard is Dex-Cool, which is manufactured by several companies including Texaco/Havoline, Prestone, Peak and Valvoline/Zerex. It is available at all auto parts stores, Walmart, and many gasoline stations.
Note that Dex-Cool is an Organic Acid Technology (OAT) coolant based on propylene glycol and should never be mixed with any other type of coolant, whether Inorganic Acid Technology (IAT, the conventional green ethylene glycol type), or Hybrid Organic Acid Technology (HOAT) coolant (which is typically dyed yellow but may also be dyed orange, green, blue, pink, red, etc.).
Please visit the New Member Area - Intro a MUST and post a required introduction so we can learn something about you and your Jaguar and give you a proper welcome.
According to the handbook, the correct coolant for your Jag is Extended Life coolant colored orange that meets [Ford] standard WSS M97B44. The most common coolant that meets this standard is Dex-Cool, which is manufactured by several companies including Texaco/Havoline, Prestone, Peak and Valvoline/Zerex. It is available at all auto parts stores, Walmart, and many gasoline stations.
Note that Dex-Cool is an Organic Acid Technology (OAT) coolant based on propylene glycol and should never be mixed with any other type of coolant, whether Inorganic Acid Technology (IAT, the conventional green ethylene glycol type), or Hybrid Organic Acid Technology (HOAT) coolant (which is typically dyed yellow but may also be dyed orange, green, blue, pink, red, etc.).
Please visit the New Member Area - Intro a MUST and post a required introduction so we can learn something about you and your Jaguar and give you a proper welcome.
Cheers,
Don
Hello I've got the 2011 XJL 5.0 and just want to be sure of the coolant type a lot of this stuff gets confusing so if I just get the GM orange Dex-Cool it should work correct? Basically if it's green it won't work and if it's orange it will work correct?
Bri's Jag, if you are going to switch to the green coolant (this is what I am running in my car), you just need to fill and drain the coolant system with some distilled water to get rid of any remaining orange coolant. After you do the fill and drain, then you can add in the green coolant to the proper level. Please note that I stated distilled water. Tap water and/or purified water has impurities in it that can have negative effects on the aluminum cooling cores. Kinda like if you get the concentrated coolant and then mix it yourself, you want to mix it with distilled water. Wlil using tap/purified water result in short term failure, by no means. But, in the long term failure prevention, using tap and/or purified water is going to allow the radiator to corrode faster, leading to a shorter life. Are we talking years shorter, depends on the amount of impurities in the water. So, hard to say what effects it may have. So, always best to use distilled.
Now, with this being said, if you are in a part of town that you shouldn't be, you need to add something to your engine to get yourself out of danger, then by all means use tap water to fill the coolant system. Just drain and refill with the proper stuff in the near future.
Hello I've got the 2011 XJL 5.0 and just want to be sure of the coolant type a lot of this stuff gets confusing so if I just get the GM orange Dex-Cool it should work correct? Basically if it's green it won't work and if it's orange it will work correct?
Hi Bri's Jag,
Check your Owner's Manual, but Bri's Jag was most likely originally equipped with orange Organic Acid Technology (OAT) Extended Life coolant. The most commonly available version is Prestone GM Dex-Cool. Manufacturers advise against mixing OAT coolants with IAT (Inorganic Acid Technology such as conventional green ethylene glycol) or HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology) coolants. Dex-Cool is inexpensive and widely available and contains corrosion inhibitors that are supposed to last longer than those in the old green IAT type. I buy my Dex-Cool at Walmart in the concentrated form and mix it 50/50 with distilled water, which I also buy at Walmart.
Ok Great thanks Don it's appreciated. I'm always in Wallmart and see the Prestone GM Orange Dexcool and am glad that will work. I've got 70K miles on my '11 XJL and probably the original factory fill so I'm gonna flush and refill with all new stuff 50/50.. With these cars I just want to make sure its not some special Jag coolant only available at the dealership or high atop some mountain in the Swiss Alps
Thanks yes I hear to never mix green with the orange and always mix distilled, can clog radiators and heater cores. My car already has the orange so will definitely stick with that verses draining and adding all new green.. Appreciate it
Today I had to flush the heater core in a friend's 2013 Jeep Wrangler. For years, Chrysler used HOAT coolant, but in 2013 it switched to OAT in at least some of its vehicles, including this Wrangler. Many Chrysler service technicians continued to use HOAT to top up OAT vehicles, apparently including this Jeep. The resulting gel was a whitish goo that clogged the heater core and took two chemical treatments to loosen and flush. I subsequently discovered that the thermostat was stuck open. I decided there was no option but to flush the entire cooling system. All better now and his heater works like a furnace.
Check your Owner's Manual, but Bri's Jag was most likely originally equipped with orange Organic Acid Technology (OAT) Extended Life coolant. The most commonly available version is Prestone GM Dex-Cool. Manufacturers advise against mixing OAT coolants with IAT (Inorganic Acid Technology such as conventional green ethylene glycol) or HOAT (Hybrid Organic Acid Technology) coolants. Dex-Cool is inexpensive and widely available and contains corrosion inhibitors that are supposed to last longer than those in the old green IAT type. I buy my Dex-Cool at Walmart in the concentrated form and mix it 50/50 with distilled water, which I also buy at Walmart.
Cheers,
Don
On my 11 xjl I was thinking about draining the entire system I know there's a petcock at the bottom of the radiator and refilling it I'm wondering if there is a bleed valve on top of the engine somewhere you have to open I know on a lot of jeeps you have to open that or unscrew that bolt to let the air out.
Bri's Jag, the line that runs to the back of the overflow tank is that high point vent. The Jag vents itself. With that being said, you may want to let the engine idle for a few minutes just to let it push coolant to all the necessary places and get the air out. After the few minutes, rev the engine a few times to help change the pressure in the coolant system from the water pump changing speeds and you should be golden. Big thing is to let the engine come up in temp, then you shut it off and rest the cap on top of the overflow bottle. You then let the engine cool (cap still not tightened down) and add any fluid that might be needed to restore the level to between the min and max indicators. You can then put on the cap. Putting the cap on with the engine hot can cause the engine to boil the coolant easier because the coolant is running at a lower pressure than it should be.
Dex Cool in the Jaguar XJ?
None of you use the JLR coolant, or Pentosin SF?
Dex Cool is notorious with the aluminum GM engines such as the North Star. Even GM adds anti-corrosion additive when using it, from the factory.
Dex Cool in the Jaguar XJ?
None of you use the JLR coolant, or Pentosin SF?
Dex Cool is notorious with the aluminum GM engines such as the North Star. Even GM adds anti-corrosion additive when using it, from the factory.
Hi Mark,
Jaguar DJLM 20972 coolant is the same coolant as Ford Motorcraft Orange (WSS M97B44). To confirm this, just check the Jaguar Vehicle Specification Booklet. Motorcraft Orange is an OAT antifreeze compatible with Dex-Cool, and vice versa. According to documentation from Havoline, the original manufacturer of Dex-Cool, it meets these specifications:
Pentofrost SF is an OAT coolant also said to meet Ford WSS-M97B44-D, but stores in our area only stock it in 1.5 liter bottles and it is significantly more expensive than Dex-Cool.
Dex-Cool has been controversial with GM owners and mechanics, but a great deal of the controversy seems to be anecdotal and lacking in scientific explantion. Dex-Cool reportedly interacted with certain types of gaskets early on, it is known to interact with Nylon 66, and it does not protect metal water pump impellers from electrolysis or cavitation erosion (thus the change to plastic impellers). Beyond those known issues, it seems to have been blamed for all manner of ills that could just as easily be due to owners not changing the coolant as often as specified, or engines running low on coolant for extended periods, or owners or technicians topping up with conventional green ethylene glycol (IAT), which is incompatible with OAT coolants and can form a gel that clogs heater cores and radiators.
Dex-Cool contains corrosion inhibitors as part of its basic formula, so I would be interested in hearing more about the "anti-corrosion additive" GM adds to Dex-Cool at the factory.
Except for problems with early Nylon 66 water pump impellers, it doesn't seem like we've had a lot of pattern failures with Jaguars that would suggest issues with the coolant.
Bri's Jag, the line that runs to the back of the overflow tank is that high point vent. The Jag vents itself. With that being said, you may want to let the engine idle for a few minutes just to let it push coolant to all the necessary places and get the air out. After the few minutes, rev the engine a few times to help change the pressure in the coolant system from the water pump changing speeds and you should be golden. Big thing is to let the engine come up in temp, then you shut it off and rest the cap on top of the overflow bottle. You then let the engine cool (cap still not tightened down) and add any fluid that might be needed to restore the level to between the min and max indicators. You can then put on the cap. Putting the cap on with the engine hot can cause the engine to boil the coolant easier because the coolant is running at a lower pressure than it should be.
Awesome thanks for the info will make note of those tips. I know I have the Aluminum 5.0 engine on the XJL and am certain the GM Dexcool is the right stuff for Aluminum engines although other people cast seeds of doubt as to other types..
Hello Don. We've had my wife's 1997 Oldsmobile Aurora for 20 years now. It has an aluminum block & heads, which are well known to have problems with coolant leaks at the head gaskets to blow out, ultimately destroying the engine. This is eerily similar to what I hear from fellow Range Rover forum members (my 2012 Range Rover has the same engine as my wife's 2012 XJ) describe happens if the JLR is not immediately shut-off when it begins to overheat.
But back to the Dex-cool. I also have the authentic GM Shop Manuals for the '97 Aurora (also covers Buick Riviera) and have taken a few pics directly from there to provide.
Note that it says that Dex Cool is design and made to last 150,000 miles.
Originally Posted by Don B
corrosion inhibitors as part of its basic formula, so I would be interested in hearing more about the "anti-corrosion additive" GM adds to Dex-Cool at the factory.
Note that it states that major engine damage can cause major engine damage. And from experiencing a blown head gasket that failed where the coolant passage breached in the Aurora, I can attest to that, EXCEPT that the prescribed GM anti-corrosion pellets WERE used with coolant refresh.
STILL - these otherwise legendary North Star GM engines with Dex Cool were notorious for limited life, primarily due to coolant/aluminum corrosion that ultimately leads to irreparable failure of the threads where the head bolts thread into the block. There are some attempts at repairing/rebuilding them with stubs, helicoils, keenserts and the like, but not many long-term success stories.
This sounds similar to what happens to a Jag aluminum engine if it overheats - blown engine & prescription to replace the entire engine because the block is shot sort of thing. Granted, I hear this more often on the Range Rover forum, but same engine.
Originally Posted by Don B
Except for problems with early Nylon 66 water pump impellers, it doesn't seem like we've had a lot of pattern failures with Jaguars that would suggest issues with the coolant.
Don
This is VERY good info, I haven't heard that it's more reactive with certain types of gasket material. Thanks!
Dex-Cool has been controversial with GM owners and mechanics, but a great deal of the controversy seems to be anecdotal and lacking in scientific explantion. Dex-Cool reportedly interacted with certain types of gaskets early on, it is known to interact with Nylon 66, and it does not protect metal water pump impellers from electrolysis or cavitation erosion (thus the change to plastic impellers). Beyond those known issues, it seems to have been blamed for all manner of ills that could just as easily be due to owners not changing the coolant as often as specified, or engines running low on coolant for extended periods, or owners or technicians topping up with conventional green ethylene glycol (IAT), which is incompatible with OAT coolants and can form a gel that clogs heater cores and radiators.
Lack of attention to fluid maintenance like coolant is too common. I don't know many people at all that have fluids other than oil replaced, which is unfortunate because it really does make a difference to the health of the engine, steering system, brakes system, etc.
Coolants, hydraulic fluids and other fluids can get corrosive and dirty over time and use, it's just not commonly thought of like engine oil is. Transmission fluids are also often neglected.
And these are great vehicles, not to be taken care of.
But I've never been a fan of aluminum blocks or heads.
Hello Don. We've had my wife's 1997 Oldsmobile Aurora for 20 years now. It has an aluminum block & heads, which are well known to have problems with coolant leaks at the head gaskets to blow out, ultimately destroying the engine. This is eerily similar to what I hear from fellow Range Rover forum members (my 2012 Range Rover has the same engine as my wife's 2012 XJ) describe happens if the JLR is not immediately shut-off when it begins to overheat.
But back to the Dex-cool. I also have the authentic GM Shop Manuals for the '97 Aurora (also covers Buick Riviera) and have taken a few pics directly from there to provide.
Note that it says that Dex Cool is design and made to last 150,000 miles.
Note that it states that major engine damage can cause major engine damage. And from experiencing a blown head gasket that failed where the coolant passage breached in the Aurora, I can attest to that, EXCEPT that the prescribed GM anti-corrosion pellets WERE used with coolant refresh.
STILL - these otherwise legendary North Star GM engines with Dex Cool were notorious for limited life, primarily due to coolant/aluminum corrosion that ultimately leads to irreparable failure of the threads where the head bolts thread into the block. There are some attempts at repairing/rebuilding them with stubs, helicoils, keenserts and the like, but not many long-term success stories.
This sounds similar to what happens to a Jag aluminum engine if it overheats - blown engine & prescription to replace the entire engine because the block is shot sort of thing. Granted, I hear this more often on the Range Rover forum, but same engine.
This is VERY good info, I haven't heard that it's more reactive with certain types of gasket material. Thanks!
Yikes!!! That manual states to add a 50/50 mix of Dexcool and eythlene glycol, I thought ethylene glycol was the green and Dexcool was the orange and never to be used in the same sentence much less mixed together!!!
11-13-2017, 09:06 PM
