I'm pretty sure I have an engine coolant leak. I put coolant in a few weeks ago. A couple days ago I got the ENGINE COOLANT LOW warning light so I refilled it. The next time I drove it I got the same message. Upon inspection, all the coolant I just put in was gone. This next time I refilled it and left the car parked overnight. No puddle under the car the next morning, but just a few miles down the road I got the same warning message.

It seems as if it only empties itself when driving. Any advice?

 

Check all hoses.

 

Let us know the year and model. The XJRs are known for hoses leaking under the supercharger, and also head gasket issues.
A normally aspirated engine will different problems.

 

I suspect that you have the common problem of the two hoses on the top of the expansion tank crossed. They should cross over each other, with the one at the tank neck going to the inside of the fender well. There are several pictures on here somewher that shows the correct orientation.

 

Look at these 2 images of the Coolant Expansion Tank. Both show the arrangement of the plastic hoses (click on image to enlarge it):



Jim Lombardi

 

My jag is a 1999 XJR. The hoses seem to be fine. Nothing leaks until the engine is on and I'm on the road with it.

 

When the engine is warmed up, do you have white smoke from the exhaust?

If not, and you can't spot any leaks, you may have the famous hoses under the supercharger leak. Do some searching here, you'll find lots of threads about this.

They are a pain to change, but not impossible.

 

"The hoses seem to be fine"
That means they are connected to the expansion tank as in the picture, right?

 

I plan on opening the car up for closer inspection tomorrow. Hopefully then I can check all of the hoses to be 100% sure there are no leaks. I don't get the white smoke from the exhaust, but the jag is starting to get that bad smell that comes with overheating. I'll open her up tomorrow to have a closer look, the ngo from there based on the advice I've been given. Thank you!!

 

I just went through a whole bout of issues of my coolant system.

I had a leak on the bottom of my expansion tank, I was kind of doing what you were. Each drive I would refill the tank with coolant that would make it to the trip fine unless it was far but then need to refill on the next drive.

Turns out the water would drip from the bottom of the tank and evaporate in the hot engine bay during the drive, no puddles of coolant but an empty tank each time.

Could be that or something similar if its a hose leak

 

So I went to drive the car to my father's home a few minutes away to give me a hand in finding the leaky hose. When I turned the car on I got a huge plume of the white smoke I was told about. About a mile later the jag just stopped. Stopped running and I couldn't get it to restart. Having it towed to a repair shop now. Any advice? Thank you in advance.

 

headgasket failiure buddy
that white smoke is water evaporating in the exhaust system.


with the cost of labour these days best buy a second hand engine
or rebuild it yourself.. you can do it in the car, just take the
head off, BUT it may not be a headgasket, it may be a cracked bore/block
so you never know.


peter

 

That's a real shame for that engine. I've had the car not even 6 months and she's been running fine. There is a Jag dismantler about an hour from where I live, I'll probably make a trip out there in search of an engine. Then I'll see about swapping them out. Thank you for the advice.