I am currently replacing the thermostat housing on our 2004 VDP with 87,000 miles. Since many of the items necessary to change the water pump will be out of the way, does it make sense to replace the water pump at the same time?

Thanks,
Jim

Well, the part is less than $100, and the time is less than an hour. If you don't do it while it's all apart, and six months from now the pump dumps, you'll be kicking yourself for not doing it. On the flip side you wasted $100 and an hour.

I've had to replace several water pumps over the years - my sense is they only last 100k or so. I only changed the first one myself (a Volvo 164) because it was such a royal pain in the butt. The last one was an X-Type about 2 years ago at ~70k, and the dealer charged me $450. The flip side of that is that I didn't have to spend all day taking it all apart and putting it all back together.

I thought about this too, as I'm about to redo the whole cooling system.

I did read a post from one of the tech guru Brutal (believe he's a jaguar dealer tech) about someone asking the same thing.

His answer was essentially - why? as he'd never seen a water pump need replaced on an XJ8.

meatbag, what engine did your x type have in it?

"he'd never seen a water pump need replaced on an XJ8."

Good news but hard to believe since the impeller is plastic.

"he'd never seen a water pump need replaced on an XJ8."

Good news but hard to believe since the impeller is plastic.

I ordered the water pump and received it late today. It does have a metal impeller. Earlier today I removed the thermostat housing and all the parts parts necessary to gain access to the housing. This should make changing the water pump fairly easy.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Jim

cool. I've thought of it as the price is very reasonable for a new one...and I'm big on 'while you're in there' replacements.
Let us know the level of difficulty or ease you find.

Just wanted to chime in as an owner of an XJR that has had the water pump fail

The replacement of the water pump was pretty easy given the access with the thermostat housing and the related connections out of the way. I used a breaker bar to move the sepentine belt tensioner our of the way (good time to replace the belt if not done recently). The 5 bolts on the pump were easy to access.

I did note that the after market pump did not use an O ring in the area around the impeller as did the original but instead relies on the gasket to seal the surfaces. However, I expect most leaks occur around the shaft.

Hope to get the thermostat housing, throttle body and numerous hoses and electrical connections back in place over the next couple of days. I will advise if any issues are noted.

Jim

"it does have a metal impeller"


Hmmm....just checked my spare Jaguar water pump and it does have a plastic impeller.

I just replaced the water pump and the update pulleys and belts on my 06 XJR with 82000 miles. I had a coolant leak in the front of the car and I guessed the water pump was leaking. Looked under the hood their was a spray of coolant on the belts.
When I tore into it, to find that the return hose by the thermostat housing was swelling up at the fitting and leaking. Water pump was ok, but I replaced it since I was their. Note: Keep the front raised up when filling the expansion tank.
Make sure the filler neck is the highest point.