MacAllan and XDave,
I popped my head underneath both the driver and passenger side footwells. It is now clearer that the ticking sound is emanating from the passenger side footwell towards the center as the sound is much louder. The sound is specifically coming through the perforated holes of the molded cosmetic covering (which is just below the glove compartment) closest to the center and I don't think it is the J console as it is way above almost directly below the glove compartment but before the molded cosmetic covering. This sound continues even with ignition key taken out of the ignition keyhole and has been ticking for at least 3 minutes. I'm getting excited now :-) that we're almost identifying the problem.

 

We await with bated breath ...

 

Phil, that does help narrow it down somewhat. Can you pop off that moulded carpet/felt covering and if you can get into a face-up position? It is not the most comfortable position to get into as I have found many, many times, but I found it easier with a towel folded over the edge of the car where your back will be. You will be able to clearly see the blower motor that feeds the air from your cabin air filter at the rear of the engine compartment through to the evaporator housing which contains your heater core, AC, ducts, etc. A gentle finger placed on the side of the blower housing would tell you if it was vibrating oddly. Removing the carpet cover will also reveal the black plastic vent that distributes air above the passenger's feet which can be unscrewed and dropped off easily which will give you full visibility under that side of the dash board and will help to further narrow down the sound without it bouncing around behind the trims.

Removing the fuse for the blower motor and for the cliamte control and listening for any change would help to elimiate or prove them as the cause.

I'm still a bit blind (well deaf) because I can't listen to the uploaded file, so can you please describe the sound pitch, volume, frequency (is it continuous or does it change), etc, in as much textual detail as you can? From sewing machine I am imaging a sound like this which may be wildly off what you are experiencing: .

 

Motorized air blend door or the air sampler for inside temp and humidty

 

Hello XDave, MacAllan and Everyone. I think this is a better recording, you can hear the ticking noise clearly. Please set your volume on full. This noise was recorded right after I turned the engine one for a couple of seconds and then turned it off. I also did not turn on the Climate Control.
The noise continued for a while but I stopped recording sooner than later because the file might be too big for my email to handle to email it to myself and the save the file to my PC.
I will open up the covers underneath the glove compartment where the noise seem to be emanating from in a day or two.

 

See attached picture. The two arrows are pointing towards the vent areas where the ticking noise seems to becoming from. It is not coming from the nearby fan blower fan part as I put the stethoscope directly over the fan blower mechanism. It seems to be coming from these vents. I also opened the hood and I don't hear any ticking noise in there close to the firewall or to the cabin air filter area. What do you guys think?

 

Your sooo close. Keep at it.

 

Sounds like bubbling coolant in the heater core to me?
Rebleed the heater system as per JTIS instructions?

 

Looks like Trosty beat me to it. After thinking about it, I thought it might be more like bubbling rather than ticking.

 

Trosty, but it does that within seconds after I turn on the engine first thing in the morning when the car has been sitting overnight for 10-12 hours. Nothing would have a chance to heat up at all because I turn on the engine for only 1-2 seconds and I turn it off and remove the ignition.

 

I just read your comment MacAllan. Did you hear the sounds from the 2nd video? So you agree with Trosty even though the engine is dead cold and has only been turned on 1-2 seconds and then turned off and ignition key out? Is there a leak then and this is draining my coolant? If leak, where could the leak be from? Why would just rebleeding the heater system cure this problem? What should I tell the Independent or Jaguar mechanic what it is or needs to be done? Can an independent Jaguar mechanic repair this or is it too hard for them that only a Jaguar dealer shop can only repair it? Any comment David at Box and Trosty? Thank you for your feedback.

 

Just off the top of my head (so this could be total BS), but if there is air in the system the water pump could create an aeration effect even if the engine only ran for a few seconds. Then the air would try to migrate out of the fluid causing the bubbling.

Not sure on the X350, but on the XJS it is difficult to bleed all the air out of the system, and a very specific procedure must be followed to do it properly.

 

I would expect the aux pump to start pumping water around the system as soon as the engine ticks over, even if its only for a second or two.

Have you checked recently if you have hot air coming out of the drivers side vents, I mean good hot air the same as the passenger side vents?

The JTIS bleed for the X350 is super simple and I will dig out the info for you if you can't get it ...

Download info here http://www.mediafire.com/download/sl...leed+R%26I.pdf

 

I just checked and the pump starts immediately on engine start/stop and that's why the gurgling happens instantly in the heater core.

 

Hi Trosty,
Thank you so much for your feedback and the JTIS bleed instructions. I will try to bleed it myself this weekend. If not, I'll have an expert mechanic do it. Regarding the amount of hot air coming through the passenger side vents, they are the same amount of heat and force as the hot air coming out of the driver side.
Before I saw your response above, I took it to a independent import/domestic repair shop (not a Jaguar independent shop per se) and the tech came out and listened to the subject sound. He said it sounds like bubbling/gurgling noise, not ticking noise. He said pretty much the same thing you said which is coolant bubbling by the heater core. He said it's not serious and can be ignored rather than touching the car and going in deep inside to replace the tubes, etc. He said the car this age sometimes the tubes gets warped but still functional. He also recommended that since I haven't really turned on or run my heater that much or at all during the fall/winter months, it might help to run the heater on max for 3 mins or so to see if that has any effect.
I forgot to mention, the Jaguar dealership service department did flush and replace the coolant last December and I always have my radio turned on so the gurgling noise might have already existed since December and I didn't notice it all along until past few weeks. I just started to noticed it now because I don't have the radio on all the time or in lower volume unlike before.
This is great news if it's just to bleed the air out. I want to keep the car and I was hoping it would last up to at least 200,000 miles so I can get my repair/maintenance investment back as it does run very well and has all the bells and whistles that other makes are just starting to have.
I see that you have a 2004 XJ8 4.2L V8 with 180,000 miles. I've replaced the following either because I need to replace them or I just replaced them just because the car was at 100,000 miles: air struts front and back, catalytic converters, spark plugs and wires, MAF sensors, engine mount, coolant reservoir, coolant thermostat, rotors, all calipers, TPS monitors, transmission oil pan and other maintenance due for a car this age. I was hoping the car would last 200,000 and the catalytic converter change was the last one I needed to change but then this gurgling noise came after and I got worried. But hopefully it's just a bleeding issue. Thanks again.

 

Update: I bled the coolant system this morning and the gurgling/ticking sound is still there. I guess I just have to bring it to a Jaguar service shop to have it diagnosed and hopefully repaired at a reasonable cost. Thanks everyone for all your feedback, tips and JTIS instructions on how to bleed the coolant system.

 

it isn't... say.... once per second, is it?

 

It can take quite some time and effort to fully bleed the system. Don't forget to squeeze the big top hose going to the radiator as it can hold an air bubble.

Guus

 

Did you ever discover the source of your ticking? My 06 SV8 started making a similar ticking or clicking sound when first started about a month ago that appears to be coming from behind the dash a little right of center. Interestingly the engine overheated a week ago and I have since replaced the thermostat and done a purge of the cooling system to get it back to normal and the ticking is still there. Mine does not sound quite like your recording but has more of a mechanical tick or click to it.

After reading this thread before the new thermostat arrived, I thought it might have been related to the overheating, but apparently not. I had assumed it was something in the climate system but had not yet tried to isolate it since everything else seems to be working. I'd appreciate hearing your conclusions.

 

I just noticed this same ticking bubbling noise behind my fascia panel recently; the audio movie clip here does sound like what I hear too. AND: my main center air vents put out very little air pressure. The rear console vents and side ones and foot ones blow fine but not main ones. The dealer TSB suggests a link between these issues? Do the folks who hear these noises have air delivery problems as well? Feel free mr moderator to move this to a new thread if the air vent pressure problem is best discussed elsewhere. Thank you. --Tom in Tucson