Hey all,
Today, in the process of my coolant system overhaul on my 97 xjr, I figured out a simple way to change out the lower radiator/octopus hose WITHOUT removing the intake manifold, supercharger, etc. The caveat is that I think this is only possible if you also remove the hose that goes from the water pump into the engine, but that's relatively straightforward if you remove the throttle body from under the car. Everything else was done from above. Here's a step by step, which I can update with pictures later on if people want:

1. Remove air filter housing, unplug/remove MAF sensor, and the upper rubber elbow after the MAF.
2. Remove the brake booster hose from the metal post-supercharger elbow, and remove the elbow along with the supercharger outlet plate (there are 4 bolts holding it to the supercharger.
3. Unplug and remove the radiator fan assembly. It is held on top by a couple bolts and slides out the top easily, giving much more space to work. To protect your radiator, you can put a piece of cardboard up against it where the fan used to be.
4. Slacken the supercharger tensioner pulley and remove the belt.
5. Remove the alternator tension bolt and the alternator pivot bolt along with the alternator belt. (At this point, I also removed the water pump for replacement)
6. Take a look at the cooling system diagram in the xj6 manual that's been posted on here a few times, and trace all the connections for the lower hose. Take pictures so you know how they go. Remove the hose clamps and disconnect the hoses. There is easy access to all of these through removal of the elbow, and from underneath the car you can remove the hose to the throttle body. If it's tough to remove the lower hose clamp from the water pump, you can remove the thermostat housing for easier access. I also removed the water pump-engine hose because it was old and leaky (my whole reason for doing the repair).
7. Depending on how you're feeling about the space, at this point you can also disconnect and completely remove the alternator. I completed the repair with the alternator loose to move around the front of the engine bay, but still attached to the wires, as they have a bit of extra length.
8. You can now remove the old octopus hose, pulling it out the front, under the supercharger. Alternator removal leaves plenty of space for that.
9. Clean all of the hose barbs to ensure no leakage and good seals on the water pump, thermostat housing, etc.
10. Pass the new hose between the supercharger bracket and where the alternator used to be. I put the long skinny part of the hose in first, and then the fat waterpump inlet and bypass hose into place after that. With the thermostat housing removed, you can kind of pull up the hose into its correct position.
11. Now, reconnect the hoses and tighten the hose clamps tightly, and reattach the alternator, supercharger, and intake stuff. That's it, you're done!

Since I did this as part of a bigger repair, I'm not exactly sure of the time this took, but the removal of alternator and old hose + assembly of new hose took about an hour. My alternator bushing was seized so I had to use a torch to heat it up and remove. If anyone has questions or comments, I'm happy to answer them, and I hope this can be helpful to someone!

 

Getting ready o do myself as I found a new octopus in a donor car

 

Parker, You'll be thanking God you are not saddled with the extra adrenalin-rush power of the supercharged car as you get into this....

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...enewal-101914/

 

I'm not sure how significant the time savings are using this method, as I think installation of the new hoses might have been easier if I had removed the intake manifold and supercharger and gone at it from above. The new hoses were very tight and hard to put on in such a confined space, and I have many bruised and scraped knuckles on both hands as a result!

 

Aaholbro1 ,

Never under estimate the power and efficiency of a re engineered AJ16 N/A engine

 

No disrespect intended the NA AJ-16 whatsoever! (I have 3 of them...and NO supercharged ones)
From what I understand, the left hand side of the engine bay is to be dreaded from a maintenance standpoint on the supercharged cars!
(I just meant you should have much easier sledding than Black_Cat.)

 

I could tell earlier you have much more experience then me .

I'm just playing , found the new hose in the trunk of the donor car

Like Christmas morning .