Hello all. My 2002 xj8 sport 4.0 made a loud pop sound when leaving my driveway. I made it about 5 miles and it started to overheat and smoke out the driver side of the hood but still drove smoothly with no loud sounds. As I was nursing my baby home going up hill the smoke stopped and the temperature went down than on the down hill it smoked again and heat rose again. I got her home no puddles no leaking on the ground of any kind. Opened the hood it smelled of antifreeze but no signs of leakage. There is no smoke coming out of the east it's clear, but my low coolant light comes on and I've lost my preasure. I'm baffled what it could be. Thermos state, water pump or both? I just replaced the top end micro line hoses and the reservoir tank is empty . Please help thanks much Gregory Orear

 

Oh dear. If I read your post correctly, you drove the car approx. 10 miles after the loud pop. Most likely the noise was some part of the cooling system letting go and the subsequent steam was the hot coolant hitting the atmosphere. It stopped smoking and dripping because the car was operated till the system ran dry.

If by 'lost my pressure' means low oil pressure, it's possible that the engine is toast from overheating. No vehicle is meant to be driven with an overheating indication present. The warning means 'stop immediately'.

Had the cause of the loud pop been immediately investigated before leaving, you might have been looking at a simple $5 repair instead.

 

Also the wrong forum for a 2002 car. Post in the X308 forum, but Mikey's post is probably correct, you have likely done serious damage to the engine from driving the car so far after the problem manifested itself.

You need to get the car to a garage for an inspection, but trailer it there, don't drive it. I suspect a coolant hose gave way and all the coolant leaked out.

Sorry to be so gloomy, but the facts as you have told us don't support a minor problem, I'm afraid.

 

Gregory,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums. I'm sorry to hear about the trouble with your Jag.

I have moved your post from the forum for the X350 to the forum for the X308, which is the Jaguar factory project code for your 2002 XJ8 Sport 4.0L. Here you will find knowledgeable owners of similar cars.

Obviously, the coolant has gone somewhere, so you will need to determine where. It seems logical to begin with the hoses you recently replaced. Are all the hoses still in place with the clamps properly tightened?

Have you checked the engine oil level, and if so, how is it?

I think Fraser's advice is prudent. Have the car towed to a good mechanic for inspection. Attempting to start the engine before the problem or problems are identified and corrected could be disastrous, if the engine has not already been damaged.

Please keep us informed,

Don

 

Sounds like the classic case of the overflow tubes not being correctly installed: when they are not installed correctly, the cooling system blows fluid all over the road.

the reservoir (left hand side, looking forward) at the firewall, has a tube going to the overflow tank in the left fender and one to the radiator ( fittings are fragile); they should cross over each other -- tube to the overflow is on the right, to the radiator on the left.