Hello Jag Enthusiasts! Not too happy about having to make another post about this. I drive to work this morning to notice another huge antifreeze leak under my car. I just had my mechanic replace water pump, and also upper hose i believe..as well as two over flow hoses. This leak seems to be almost right in the middle of the car (close to driver seat sort of) What could this be? could it be that he criss crossed the overbleed hoses..or maybe i need a new reservoir tank? (cracked) thermostat? new cap? I hope this is not a huge repair as I dont have the money to fix this right away if it is something major! My car didnt overheat but i definitely dont want to take the risk! I keep distilled water and some prestone anti freeze in my trunk. Scared to drive it home from work today..but i will just fill it and do that because it appears that it doesnt leak while i am driving but only when i come to a halt! please help! im a female and have no idea about cars..waiting for my mechanic to get back in touch with me..please HELP!! oh yeah! i drive a 1999 jaguar xj8 v8! thanks a bunch guys!

 

I live 15 minutes from you,.....drop me a PM if you want, I'll give you my cell number, and you can bring it to my garage. I can determine what and why it's leaking, AND I have an EXCELLENT (CHEAP!!) mechanic two blocks away.

 

I was counting on the world to end today, so I did some BAD things in the past year! Now that the old world is still here, I need some redemption points!!

 

Well,....I spoke with "Metalgoddess" on the phone, and consulted my mechanic about the problem. Goddess was at work, and my mechanic had to go in her direction to get some parts,....so I gave them each others phone number to get together at her place of work (she told me that she is afraid to drive to me/us), and he was supposed to check her car right then and there.
I haven't heard anything afterwards.

I did my part.

 

Awesome! Everyone...

 

sandy! you are absolutely right girlfriend this forum is awesome! especially for women who dont know too much about cars! by the way your xj8 is lovely! ive learned so much from this forum its crazy! thank you so much daniels! i am on my way to see gabriel this afternoon! cross your fingers guy that its just an air pocket!!! I am trying to find a trusted mechanic who can work on my lovely xj8 and stick with just one.its hard to find someone that you can trust nowadays!...i think its true that they say once you drive a jag...you never go back! hehehe! merry xmas everyone and thank you all so much for your help! cheers!

 

super sport! im sorry about your blownxjr!

 

Hi MG , any progress on the cause of the puddles?

 

I had a similar issue twice with two different causes. The first time was from under the front left corner of the car, and that was crossed lines at the the fill-reservoir, the same problem most people have. The second time sounds much more similar to your case, where it was coming from the cowl area on the passenger side. In my case it was the heater hoses. They run through the valley of the engine, under the supercharger in my case and under the intake manifold in the case of your XJ8. The coolant was puddling up in the valley and then dripping off the back of the engine. This is a super common problem, even moreso with the XJ8s, since they have a plastic water neck coming from the engine instead of the XJRs metal piece. I solved mine with some new heater hoses. That's what I'd check first.

 

You are spot on. I spoke with MetalGoddess on the phone several times, and hooked her up with my mechanic. The mechanic diagnosed the heater hoses, and is working on replacing them.

I am waiting for a promissed "lunch date" with the Goddess, after her Cat is fixed!

 

thanks for the check up fredd60 and for the input cabezagrande! thanks to danielsand Ive found an awesome mechanic that will always work on my "kitty" hehehe! you are indeed correct it was the heater hoses! I am so glad that it wasnt a blown head gasket as I could not afford this after just purchasing this car! My kitty is in the process of getting worked on..I sure do miss driving her...but in the meantime i cant complain as my wonderful mother has been letting me drive her cadillac cts! hehehe Thanks again everyone! i am learning so much from this forum and it is awesome! and yes danielsand...we will definitely have our lunch date soon! cheers!

 

Glad I could help! Good luck in getting your beast running again

 

heater hose you say? i will give that a look at, as my car just dumped a load in my garage, im currently waiting for the car to cool down so i dont scold myself with hot dripping coolant

 

yup! heater hoses! i have to get both of them replaced! i am waiting on my kitty to be fixed now..i sure do miss driving her lol anywho..have you been noticing issues with your heater..blowing hot air and then cold air? when that started happening i noticed those huge puddless of antifreeze this is after getting a new water pump..as well as bleed hoses replaced!

 

i figured my hoses were simply clogged, i was on my way to a shop to flush them out, but forgot something so i went back home and it leaked

 

This is perfectly normal on the older cars. Let me share some "wisdom" with you young people.

When you drive an older car (age wise, regardless of mileage) there are few things you need to keep in mind. During the summer, these hoses didn't get any usage, and without the coolant circulating through them, they became stiff, and brittle. They are old. They stop sealing at the clamps (clamps almost appear to be loose), and you develop leaks. This happens at the change of season. The best thing to do is to check EVERYTHING related to heat, BEFORE it happens so the car doesn't leave you stranded. There is also the "life expectancy" of these hoses to consider. They WILL all go bad at one point in time. That includes ALL hoses on the car. Radiator hoses especially.

The cars that have rubber hoses at the end of their lifetime, WILL also develop A/C problems at the next change of season. Don't be surprised if you turn the air on the first hot day, and there is no A/C! Many people think that turning the A/C off in the winter will save them money in gas mileage (if the A/C compressor is not working, there is less load on the engine, and better gas mileage logic). However,.....A/C system that is not working, also does not get any lubrication from the Freon, and the hoses develop leaks. Come spring,....there is no Freon left in the system! It all leaked through the dried out hoses and loose fittings.

Keep the climate control on "Auto", and the thing will do what it's designed to do,....cool/heat your cabin as needed. I know running the heater in the summer is a "no go", but there ARE products on the market that are formulated to add to the coolant, that will lubricate the hoses from the inside out. Stay away from the "stop leak" type of coolant additives, and you'll be OK.

The best thing to do is......preventative maintenance. In the early fall, take the hoses off, flush the system, inspect and replace deteriorated hoses if needed, button everything tight, and you will not have a problem.

 

ok so i threw on the propane heater, and went looking around, the entire engine bay was completely dry, so i went under the car and started looking for where the coolant is coming from. all the hoses from what i could see underneath the car all looked completely dry, but then i saw this reservoir look alike thing



and there is a little overflow part, that looks like where it came out



what is this thing, and why would it shoot out coolant?

 

ok so i threw on the propane heater, and went looking around, the entire engine bay was completely dry, so i went under the car and started looking for where the coolant is coming from. all the hoses from what i could see underneath the car all looked completely dry, but then i saw this reservoir look alike thing



and there is a little overflow part, that looks like where it came out



what is this thing, and why would it shoot out coolant?

 

what do you think? should i try filler her back up with coolant?

 

thoughts anyone? i might try filling her back up with water, and see if she dumps another load, all the hoses seem to be in tact, just dont know why it shot out of the reservoir