Hi,

I have quite a lot of coolant leakage from one of the pipes on top of the engine. Does anyone know if this is an easy fix?
I would imagine maybe some packing gone bad or the black clip is not tight enough.
Pictures attached:


The leak comes from the L shaped clip in the middle.

Slightly zoomed in.

You can see droplet underneath the clip.

 

The black clip is fine, it just holds the L-shaped connector in place (prevents it from being pushed out). The L-shaped connector has two small o-rings that are supposed to seal. You have to disconnect this connector and inspect the condition of the two o-rings as well as the condition of the inside (the bore) of the adapter on the coolant cross-pipe. The inside of the adapter may have some corrosion preventing good sealing.

These connectors can be quite difficult to pull out, especially if not disconnected for a long time. After you have drained the coolant, spray some WD40 where shown on the pic below and gently wiggle the connector (you will probably need to spray and wiggle a number of times). Before you can start pulling the L-shaped connector out, you have to spread the securing clip as shown. You can push-in two wedges made of harder wood or use "opposite action" circlip pliers (shown on the second picture). When the clip is sufficiently spread, you have to pull and wiggle the connector. It can take some time and effort but it should eventually come out. Just take care not to apply too much force as you may break the connector.

Once disconnected, you should find a way to clean the inside of the adapter (remove any rust) and replace the two small o-rings on the L-shaped connector.

 

Some cars have the removal tool attached to one of the connections -- the two piece tube going to the SC cooler. Or you can use two small nails -- be carful ... wiggle.

That must be an early car ..... Jaguar changed that tube to a 90 degree hose with clamp on later cars. If you order make sure you get the correct version -- But, the old may not be available anymore.

It may just be an "O" ring problem ..... all of those bleed hoses are made of plastic that gets brittle with age. I have replaced them all on both of mine.

They are inexpensive in the USA -- Paid around 100USD for all of them.

 

Thank you very much guys!
Do I need to completely drain the coolant before starting this job? If so, how do I do that?
Also, do you know the spec of the o-ring I need?

 

I did not -- just suck some coolant out of the tank. Have some duct tape/ wrap ..something to plug the fitting on the engine. The hose can just be raised up. Make a catch pan from some aluminum foil.

 

Before you go for o-ring replacement, inspect the connector for any cracks in the are where the o-rings sit. To get new o-rings, you would have to bring one of them to an o-ring shop. The size of the new o-rings will have to be very close to the original rings - slightly smaller and the connector will leak, slightly bigger and you may not be able to push the connector in. If you cannot find an o-ring shop, you will have to buy a new complete pipe.

 

Much appreciated!
Do you know the spec of a complete new pipe?
Also any idea where I can buy one?

 

It is p/n MNC4582BC. You can get it from SNG Barratt (https://www.sngbarratt.com/uk/#!/English/home) or DMG (David Manners Ltd - Part search Jaguar Parts, Daimler Parts, Classic Jaguar Spares). Just type the mentioned part number in their search boxes.

 

Here is my R -- this is OE from factory in 02. Notice how they eliminated the connection for a more robust design. The matching replacement to mine is MNC4582BD .... Make sure you get the correct one for your car if it's still available. One letter makes a difference.

 

Here are the others.

Twin to SC radiator/ single to radiator/ drain

 

Ok thanks for the info.
I finally got the spare parts. Of course when I tried to wiggle out the old connector it broke off.
Now I'm stuck with half of it inside the metal housing. Se picture.
Any idea how to get the piece out?

 

You can make a short hook (at about 90 degrees) out of a strong piece of wire that you can push in through the hole and try to pull the piece out. Before you attempt this, put WD40 into the pipe up to the broken off piece. Do not spray in but spray on a small piece of cloth and apply liberally, i.e. stuff the cloth inside but do not push too hard in to avoid pushing the plastic piece further in. Leave it for some time, maybe overnight, then try the pulling. Heating the metal adapter with a small (pen) torch will probably help.

If the piece still does not come out, you can try with the same hook but make it red hot, heat-up the adapter with the torch, insert the hook through the hole and try to melt through the piece by pulling the hook out.

 

I finally got around to do this. Some WD40 overnight worked with some efforts.