I was just about to post that I had 10K trouble free miles since buying my XJ sport on March 30, 2008. Then on Friday I am driving accross town and the A/C stops blowing cold. I fiddle with the controls for a minute, no improvement when I notice the car feels a little sluggish also. I look at the temp guage and it pegged at max with the red light on.

(small rant - why is there no other warning? no chime, no other lights, just that one red light partially blocked by the steering wheel?)

I imediately slow down, and am about to get off the highway when temp returns to normal. Hunh? Go a few more miles, and it does it again. By this time I am at the office. Busy day, no time to worry about it.

Start home, all is normal until just a few miles from home. At this point I am thinking thermostat, so I crank the heat to hi and the fan all the way up. Sure enough, that is enough to keep the temp gauge close to normal.

I dropped it off at a local mechanic who I trust to figure out a thermostat.

First question is do you guys think it is a t-stat?

Second - what else should I do, in other words, should I worry about a water pump, heater hoses? Change any other fluids?

 

Hi Trains,

I'd say thermostat, both radiator hoses, new coolant, out the door. Maybe $300 total,with high priced factory parts.