I have been having this coolant poodle under the car (driver side below bumper). I think it was coming from next to the drain plug, on the plastic/alu seam. It is in principle not a compression failure at all, since I tested compression and also did a combustion gas leak test.

So I'm taking out the radiator, in chapters as I always do. I have already the coolant hoses out and the fan connectors disconnected. I still need to take out the transmission lines.

Question: I have not yet lifted the vehicle, I don't see the need for now. Is it advisable to do so before removing transmission lines? Should I expect a lot of fluid loss?

Since I'm there I'm removing the pump/thermostat, etc. Lots of brown cristals above the pump.


This is the entry into the block, it was "sweating" some kind of brown crystals. The same can be found above the pump. Not 100% sure where it is coming, but hey, I'm going to try to remove the tower as well. Sorry for that coolant you see on the accessory belt, I was really not expecting coolant when removing the crossover. I try to be as careful as possible.

Makes me wonder if the coolant loss is just the tower leaking, since I believe anything falling down ends up in the plastic tray under the bumper, therefore in the radiator area where I believe is leaking.

Other questions, if somebody is so kind to answer:
- I'm replacing the coolant hoses and their clamps (the short one between crossover and T-house and big ones exit entry into radiator). Is the crossover pipe also replaced? I don't see cracks, I think the seal failed, just that, therefore those crystals indicating a leak.
- I want to replace the accessory belt, it is the only consumable not replaced in my car. When I try to move the tensioner (anti clockwise, with a socket on the top bolt from the two) it is very hard, how much force it is expected to be applied?

Once I finish, I'll be making a complete report on how to remove the radiator (assuming I get it done). I have not seen a lot of info here. It is not difficult at all so far, but very time consuming. There is one bolt from the 10 clamping down the radiator that is really rusted, it has me afraid of forcing it.

Thank you,

 

If it's still the plastic thermostat tower on yours they are well known to fail so you could well have found the issue without needing to remove the rad.

 

It has to be substantial leak to build up that much even on the mating surface, clean it thoroughly and use new gaskets on both sides
Get UV coolant dye, run it through the system and go at it with UV torch at dusk, it will show all leaks big and small

 

OK, good an bad news.

Good: transmission lines out, some oil spilled from bottom one, not much I believe. Radiator top plate out and hood sensor out. Believe it or not, the last thing I have to do is to remove the grill mess to reach the condenser bolts and I don't have any idea how to do.

Bad: with the car slightly lifted, I took a look and I saw some coolant dripping in the area behind the engine. The other day I saw already some fluid in that area (when I bought the car that area tended to stay dry I believe.

I need a pick-me up, I was feeling the smartest guy for doing a radiator job and now I see problems are always there waiting, really thinking why am I doing all this.

 

I think Hooli is right. Not clear to me you needed a new radiator, maybe just refresh the hoses, including the stubby: clearly a new thermostat gasket, thermostat, and probably the thermostat housing; maybe a new water pump (same labor, four extra bolts); a probably the heater control valve or some other water source at rear of engine; most likely the water pipes under the intake manifold, which are known to leak.

 

Yes, I am doing all that. Look, the radiator diagnostic is 25 units of european currency.

Maybe I want to remain optimistic, maybe is because I slanted the car lifting it and some coolant run to there. Weird that I can see literal drops falling like that, the system would be empty pretty fast in normal operation?

Also, what is the deal with the tensioner to remove the belt?

15 mm socket in the upper bolt, and then, do as if I unscrew? Or try to "grab and pull" to passenger side (tried this and did not work)

 

Seriously, you put the 15mm wrench on the bolt (but not the bolt that holds the tensioner to the engine block) and pull against the spring. If it breaks, you might have to buy a new one: I did on my 01 in 2013, it had rusted out. Frankly, I don't remember whether you push or pull on the wrench handle -- surely you can figure it out. Yes, replace the crossover pipe: if for no other reason than you most likely need to replace the temperature sensor.

This is a great car to learn mechanics; but go slow, cuz it is crystal clear you are not a pro, so patience and common sense your best tools! Might also try YouTube . . . as well as other threads on this forum.

 

Simply don't afraid to use more force, this spring is quite hard

 

Sounds like the valley hoses/octopus hose, it's a common fault. The hoses run under the inlet manifold & suffer from the heat there. The ocotopus is a five? legged join in the hoses under the expansion tank that's known to split & weep.

Also check the joints on the hard bleed hoses from the expansion tank that go forward in the same area, I had a hard to find small leak & it turned out to be an O-ring in one of them not sealing. Also remember these cross over at the tank when you put them back, that's a very common mistake & makes the car blow coolant out when hot.

In either case, the coolant pools in the Vee of the engine & if you lift the front of the car it dribbles off the back. Mine dripped in the same place as where I normally park the car is slightly nose high. Often when driving it evaporates so it's hard to spot the leak.

The good news is I think your car isn't supercharged? so you can get to the hoses to swap them. The supercharger cars need the entire inlet track off to get access.

 

That's tricky it might be the radiator tank leaks under pressure only sometimes the plastic expand under the pressure and heat , you can fit later model if it's the radiator whichs around 250$ in rockauto , however I would install the thermostat tower with permatex gasket maker and new thermostat seal and see if there's still leaks hopefully this solve it , if no then probably the tank leak only when hot and under pressure even radiator shop pressure test can't tell
I wouldn't pay 900$ for oem radiator , you will need good hammer and drill and some extension to install later model radiator , all in all your choice .

 

You are all advising against taking out the radiator...if I would have noticed the pool under the T-tower earlier I might have been a little bit less impulsive maybe. But I could see with my eyes that seam in the rad with liquid while surroundings where dry...and at teh same time inspecting with my UV light and I did not see the pool in the T-tower.

Anyway, I'm almost there: I only need to wiggle the AC condenser pipes so that they move out from the brackets, then lift it up to release it from the radiator lower front brackets and take out the radiator like a hero.

I really hope I can make the pipe move enough. Driver side moves and has some play, the passenger side is stuck in its bracket.

I finally removed the belt, I was such an idiot, with my breaker bar I could manage enough torque. Water pump pulley stuck for now.

On the T-tower, I need now to remove the rear bolts. I'll probably try to destroy it tomorrow.

Once out I'll consider my options. The radiator fins are crumbling, don't know if that can be restored or if it is worth saving. Cheapest rad I have seen is either 900 € in SNG Barratt or half for a chinese made aluminium.

 

 

That's it.

However after taxes and everything the saving compared to the one from Barratt isn't that much.

 

Ok, done. Here is the report:

Before we start:

- I did not disconnect the AC line. Why? Because I called my local shop and they could recover my AC, but they said they did not calculate how much compressor lubricant took out. They just take everything out and back in the same intervention. So, if I go to the shop few weeks later after replacing the radiator for a refill, how would they know how much to add? This is how I figured it in my head, maybe I was being too careful. I’m no expert in AC.

- In any case, I strongly recommend finding a way to remove the AC lines, because the job is quite easy with that part solved.

- Overall, it is an easy but lengthy process, you are going to get frustrated with everything.

- I recommend watching Mitch Grooms youtube video, his advices are gold: for example, did you know that the AC condenser fits in a bracket to the radiator? He shows that. Without that, you will lift the radiator and the condenser together and maybe damage something.

- Also, I did not raise the vehicle. Well, I did, but in principle is not needed.

- I lost some transmission fluid. Maybe my plug was not solid enough. How much? I don’t know, maybe like 20-30 cl? So below 5% of total capacity…I guess your first thought after radiator reinstall is to do a transmission refill.



Tools you need :

- A tray to recover the coolant.

- Hose clamp pliers : I used the normal ones and the wired one.

- 19mm wrench for the transmission line.

- 10mm socket for the fan shroud bolts (and to disconnect the battery) and condenser bolts.

- Torx 40 head for the radiator top plate bolts.

- Lots of zip ties to keep lines and cables out of the way while pulling the radiator.

- Plugs for the transmission lines: the hole should be a 16mm and the pipe, I used 3/8 inches, but could have used a bigger one maybe.



Instructions:

- Disconnect the battery.

- Place the pan under the vehicle.

- Remove radiator plug. A stream of fluid will rush, but don’t be afraid, one of this oil change cans will catch it.

- Remove the hoses. Easiest one is the passenger side. For driver side, you need the cable pliers, at least I did. The one close to the radiator frustrated me much more than the one connected to the thermostat cover. No fluid or almost none remains in the hoses, so don’t worry

- Remove the thin line going to the header tank: everybody is very afraid of this. In my case I did not have any issue. My car has its issues but brittle plastics is not one (yet) of them.

- At this point I believe I removed the fan shroud:

o Remove two 10mm bolts.

o With the coolant pipes out of the way, you can unplug the fan connectors: do the big one from the passenger side, the small one from the driver side (this one a little but more far to reach but perfectly doable). The plug has a tab, just push out and down, it will disconnect almost by itself, by far easiest plugs to deal with in this car so far.

o Cut the cable ties of the cables attaching to the fan shroud.

o Reposition the cable harness somewhere attaching it with a zip tie to clear space.

- Remove the transmission lines: I started from the bottom (like in real life).

o At this point I raised the vehicle front, but I still lost some fluid. Should have raised it more probably.

o The bottom one was a little tricky to get out. Once loose, pull straight. Plug the hole, that is where the fluid is coming from.

o The top one is easier, and you will not lose fluid.

o Recover the O rings (could get stuck inside the hole).

o Again, try to zip tie the lines out of the way as much as possible.

- Remove the radiator top plate:

o Remove the 10 bolts. They can be rusted; I did some penetrating oil stints.

o Now you need to remove the hood open/close sensor plug, on the passenger side. This one is tricky, not much space.

- Remove the front grill (not the frame, just the interior part). I just had to remove one side. To remove it, ply with a flat screwdriver on the top, between grill and frame. Notice how there are some inserts right and left on the upper part of the grill, ply there, carefully but without hesitating, they will come out easy without drama.

- Remove the bolts attaching the condenser to the radiator.

- Now, this is where things get serious:

o The AC line on the passenger side is held with a bracket to the radiator. You need to push the line out of the bracket. I found this to be very annoying, since I was not sure how much force to use. I managed to do it with one hand, trying at the same time to push the line out and the lower part of the bracket down.

o Once out, place the line above the bracket.

- Push the condenser up to detach it from the brackets in the front of the radiator. Not difficult, you don’t need to push too much.

- Attach the radiator to the frame with zip ties. I found that attaching the AC line on the driver side and pushing it a bit to the side would help clearing a bit better the radiator. Otherwise, the driver side AC line bracket in the radiator will clash against the AC line itself when taking out the radiator.

- Now, the game is called taking out the radiator. I’m not sure there is a bet way, control all sides and clearances, easier said than done. Better with two persons.

- With the radiator out, go take some beverage. I stopped smoking, otherwise I would have smoked a well-deserved one.

Final note:

I do not know how risky it is to work with the AC lines like this under pressure. The AC line on the passenger side looks slightly bent, not sure when did this happen. I advice taking the radiator out from the driver side, trying to undisturb the passenger side the lest possible. Do this under your own responsibility, I am just sharing my experience. Always be careful, do not rush, and when in doubt, leave it for tomorrow.

Fan cables attached. You don't need to remove the crossover pipe, but I was also replacing the Thermostat tower.


Hood sensor. Push on that cross shaped part at bottom and pull down.

This is the AC line removed from its bracket.

Bolt attaching the AC condenser to the radiator.

Push the AC line driver side as much to the side as you can. You can also see the transmission line plugged.

If you ever wondered, the radiator rests on these brackets. It is supported on its sides, not on the base.

 

Hello,

I am starting to receive parts and bits to start the whole reassembly. By the way, I bought a new original radiator.

I also bought a new coolant pump, the old one was still original and in very good shape IMO: black impeller and the part number was part of the ones Jaguar stated should be replaced in that TSB (don't remember the number).

I am working with a ,ew 0.4 mm rubber gasket: which torque values should I use? Still the 8 Nm + 90° mentioned in the manual for the original pump?

Thank you,

 

Moving forward.

I cleaned and did some paint repairs in the chassis and others now that I had good access.

Parts did all arrived.

Water pump installed. I installed one from Febi Bilstein, plastic impeller. I had to return it originally since gasket in the kit was kinked. The second one arrived the same (?). something to do with the packaging, the water pushes against the gasket in the box because lack of room. Fortunately I had ordered a gasket in SNG by mistake as well, so I used that one. It also looked slightly better finished. N oidea how critical is a kinked gasket, but just in case. I torqued to 8 Nm + 90°, hope it is ok.

Now I am ready to install the aluminium tower. I am afraid because the mating surface is slightly pitted. It took me years to remove all the scale and residues.

Once that is done, it should be pretty straightforward. Radiator in, connect all and run.

I also rethreaded one insert for the coil plug, which was damaged.

 

Water pump gaskets are usually fairly forgiving, however I certainly understand
the idea of not doing the job twice.

 

Rebuilt almost complete.

The radiator I bought in SNG Barratt is not very good IMO, the fan shroud and top clamp plate do not fit well, it must be skewed somewhere.

The thermostat housing was easy to install, but I could not fully torque the rear two bolts. I replaced original bolts with allen head and tightened with a long ball head key. I hope it is tight, is the only point I have my doubts with the rebuild.

Normally I'm refilling the system on Saturday.

Yearly technical inspection in one week. I was feeling like in one of these shows where they need to finish the rebuild before some show or event.

In total I have been around 2 months I believe.

 

I started the car today and did a short, calm run. So far no issues.

I notice there is less vibration at idle, or so I think.

As a corollary, in the cleaning and rebuild phase:

- I had to do a lot of paint touch ups, chassis, antiroll bar, inner part of body. Little signs of rust or discoloured bits. Took me ages since I was discovering a new one every day.
- The cleaning phase was extremely exhausting, so much dirt was accumulated a little bit everywhere in the pump and thermostat housing mating surfaces.The mating surface of the block to the thermostat housing was slightly damaged, hopefully not that much to create leaks.
- When mounting back all, I tightened the water pump (Bilstein) to 8 or 9 Nm + 90°. The gasket was the metal one thinner (0.4 mm) than the original one.
- The thermostat housing to the block (branded TRE), I did 13 Nm for the two front bolts, and whatever I could to the two allen head bolts I used in the back. I used the ribbed O ring coming with the kit for the union to the block, and nothing else.
- My new thermostat did not have this big valve on top, but had a small opening. I bought the Waxstat thermostat. It came with a O ring but I saw no use, the thermostat itself had this rubber ring around it that we all know. Funny enough there was also an O ring in the thermostat housing kit, which I also did not use.
- My biggest frustration was the radiator. It is listed as OEM in SNG but I doubt it. I honestly believe it did not have the proper shape, unless all radiators are like that. You could not clamp the top plate properly once the radiator top bushings are fitted. I finally did it with a lot of difficulty. Likewise, the fan shroud fitted a bit poorly.

Some last thoughts: I felt like the old radiator was much heavier than the new. Maybe it still had some coolant that could not go out. I would not be surprised it was clogged or so. So much dirt, scale and residues were visible in the mating surfaces of the pump and thermostat housing...

I'm really going to take things calmer from now on. My neighbours were worried they always saw me under the hood of the car. They said why don't you drive it?!