Hi, My 2004 VDP has developed a heavy coolant leak. From what I can tell, it is coming from the nipple of the coolant reservoir. It has a crack in the middle. I want to replace the reservoir, so I attempted to remove it to see how easy it was going to be. I removed the top hose and bolt, but I couldn’t get to the bottom hose or the sensor connector from the top.
My question is, am I supposed to have access to the bottom hose and connector from the top or do I need to get to them from under the car? I read a number of lengthy posts, but none mentioned the details that I am looking for. Can someone give me instructions on how to access the bottom of the reservoir?

In the meantime, I used JB Weld epoxy to see if I can fix the nipple, but I won’t know for another 15 hours or so, as I need to wait 24 hours for it to cure.

 

I just did this yesterday.
The electrical wire can be unlocked from the bottom-side with a litte screwdriver.

The lower hose has a wire, which can be felt with the left hand. Push this wire to the right.
You could also use a screwdriver on the right side of the hose to unlock the wire. I personally couldn't get there.

If you search the forums, there is a file Procedure to replace a 2006 Jaguar S Type Coolant Recovery Tank.docx, which explains most of it.
( For unknown reasons, I cannot attach here..)

 

That wire clip is VERY easy to lose if you are not careful. It cannot be bought on its own so do not lose it!

It has two "safe" positions one that is closed and one that holds the clip in place but not closed.

Pic shows closed position. You can see the open holding "knob" to the right of the right angle bend in this side of the clip there is another on the opposite side.
With the hose connection off it is relatively easy to get at the low coolant switch connection.

 

Thank you for the responses and the pointer to the S Type document. I have gone through the same post before, but apparently not thoroughly enough to read the comment that the S Type instructions were the same as the 2004 XJ8.
Will attempt the instructions once I get the new reservoir (was thinking of a dry run, but changed my mind), but today, I'll be testing the JB Weld fix to see if it did the job.

 

Jack -
In your picture I am not sure what I am looking at. Is this a view under the car, looking up? Where is the reservoir? And where is the wire clip? Can you mark up the photo and repost it? That would be helpful. Thanks.

 

The pic is of the space the reservoir occupies. It is with the reservoir removed and looking from the top.

You will see the electric pump with white plastic caps covering the inlet and outlet.

If you look just above the top white cap you will see the hose connector with a pressure clip on it that fits on that inlet of the pump.

Go a little more diagonal right and you will see a larger plastic connector that fits on the outlet coupler of the reservoir. It is part of a T join.

It is on that connector you can see the wire clip. It is u shaped and goes around a slot in the coupler and sinks into a corresponding slot in the reservoir coupler to hold it in place.

 

Clip

 

The JB Weld fix did not work. The layer of epoxy was too thin, it came out when I put the cable back over the nipple.
But, after reading the documentation and seeing the posted image, looking at the reservoir today things were clearer. I was able to identify the level sensor connector and the reservoir bottom hose and determine what is waiting for me when the time comes to replace it. I took some photos, one of the JB Weld job, it might be of help to someone and the other one of the bottom hose.

The below image is of the nipple with the JB Weld on it. The red dot is the location of where the nipple is split. The epoxy was removed after putting the cable back.


The below picture is taken from the top, over the reservoir with the camera focusing on the back of the reservoir with the intention is to show the bottom hose and how the clip is not easily accessible.


The below photo show the other end of the bottom hose. The arrow is pointing to the clip which is easily accessible.


My question is, it seems it will be much easier to remove the bottom reservoir hose from the end shown in the above picture, then remove the other end after the reservoir is out. Any thoughts on this? Do you see a reason why I should not remove the hose from the end in the photo?

 

Your connection at the bottom of your reservoir looks very different to mine. On mine there is at least an inch of clearance at the T piece where the wire clip is visible.

I am surprised as your reservoir is a totally different design as well. Must be a big difference from SC model to NA model.

 

To complete the post, I installed the new reservoir 5 days ago. I bought a "Eurospare Expansion" brand from autohausaz.com for $54 including tax. The quality looked the same as the original.
I could have removed the radiator hose to give me better access to the bottom of the reservoir, but I did not want to remove it unless absolutely necessary to avoid the possibility of getting it destroyed in the process, so I opted for removing the air filter housing which gave me enough view into the bottom hose and the sensor, and a little bit extra room. it is also something that I wanted to remove anyway to replace the air filter. See images.

Removing the clip from the bottom hose was fairly easy after reading the multiple warnings and instructions. I used a flat head screwdriver to push the clip from the left end backward to the right. I pushed gently so the clip does not fly away and because it did not need much pressure to move. Once I moved the clip a little, I then pushed it a little more from the center of the clip until it was out of the groove, but still over the hose.
The sensor connector was removed by pressing on the connector from the bottom then pulling it out. I used a small flat head screw driver to help me nudge the connector out.

Putting the new reservoir in was a 5 minute job. I filled the reservoir with coolant, started the car for few minutes, then added more coolant. I continued to check the coolant level for two days after driving it and had to add coolant on both days, after than the level of coolant became stable and hasn't change since.

The air filter housing
I

Space gained after air filter housing was removed

 

The little nipple hose from coolant reservoir is so easy to break. I broke one several months ago when I replaced the leaking bottom hose connected to the reservoir. I broke another one last week while changing the water pump. I forgot my mental note to disconnect a hose to this nipple while I am attempt to tighten the three bolts on water pump pulley.

 

On my 2006 S-Type, I removed this hose from the heater line, but there is a second hose that you can't see that runs of the right of the expansion tank, and really low in the engine compartment. So removing this hose in the photo still does very little to get the expansion tank off. I was successful in removing the spring clip off the main connection going into the bottom of the expansion tanks. Good luck.