Last weekend my '02 XJ8's water pump decided to fail. Of course, it was far from home, so I left it at a garage (in the Poconos). Their estimate to replace pump, timing belt & coolant is $620. Is that reasonable? Is this a job a shade tree mechanic could do? Thanks.

 

Water pump and serpentine belt change are fairly easy to do for an amateur mechanic on these cars. Water pump is right on top of the engine in front, pretty much a bolt off/bolt on procedure.

 

The pump can be changed in about one hour. I'll take $620 any day but you could talk me down to $200, parts included.

 

I bought an Airtex waterpump (the Jaguar OEM) for US$34, and a Gates belt for US$23 in August 2016.
Both from Rockauto in the US, the shipping to this island cost me more.
Do the math ...

And +1 on the do-ability; it is really a no-brainer to replace those items.

 

Take a quick look here: JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource for getting an idea of how "much" work it involves to R&R the water pump. 620$ looks quite steep to me as the parts costs usually won't exceed the 100$ limit.
Tipp: you/they should get a water pump with a metal gasket. Here in good old Europe, you'll get some pumps with paper gaskets (even from well known brands) and they'll definitely leak one day and probably earlier, than their siblings with the metal gaskets.

 

I'll be impressed if they can change the timing belt.

 

I don't know what is wrong with you, but it seems you have great pleasure posting useless comments over and over again.
It is clear the OP means the serpentine belt.

 

I had poor luck with the AirTex. The AC Delco was much better. Be careful of the belt tensioner; they tend to seize up at this age. While you are at it, maybe the Thermostat and cross over pipes as well. I have big hands: bacitracin healed most of the cuts . . . .

 

If the OP meant the serpentine belt, he should have said so. The post was about being over-billed for the work done. It would therefore be a good idea to be precise about what EXACT parts are being changed. If you ask someone to change the water pump and timing belt on a car with timing chains, you are just asking to be taken advantage of.

Anyone can click on my username, and see the posts I've made. They look pretty helpful to me.

Interestingly, I calculate that I have been thanked at a rate of 0.3 times per post, while you have been thanked at a rate of 0.34 times per post, so it seems that my posts are of about the same general utility as yours.

This is the second time you've been belligerent at an post of mine for no apparent reason. Post flagged.

 

KEEP IT CIVIL.

The post about 'timing belt' seemed to me to be a brief and lighthearted way of pointing out there isn't one on the Jaguar V8 without causing offence. The response was clearly intended to be exactly the opposite.

Graham

 

i understand the thermostat housing is really harder than the waterpump

 

It actually isn't if you have some luck:

- The old tower can be broken into pieces.
I used a large vice, and several rags around and in the pipe to prevent stuff falling in, it comes off in several large chunks.

- The 2x rear bolts are then much easier accessible.
If you are lucky, they just come out.
If not, just lift the intake manifold a tat (loosen all bolt some turns, nothing should fall out).
Just 10 minutes extra.

- Use Allen bolts / keys for reassembly, no problem to access the rear bolts with those.

 

hello again
i am surely going to try to replace the water pump while the weather is warm . my car stays at normal temperature when idling but shortly thereafter the temp goes up and then will cool back down rapidly. so it seems from here that something is stopping the coolant from flowing .i hope i am doing this repair in the right order ,water pump , thermostat , and flushing the system .

another thing i need to figure out is if the engine has a oil coolant . the parts place asked me and i am not sure how to tell since this is new to me .
any advice i could get is appreciated on both subjects.


--------------------------------
1998 jaguar xj8l

 

In my (and several other cases) it was the thermostat.

They tend to stuck, and considering the importance for a Jaguar engine, should imo a replacement item every couple of years.

Waterpump and thermostat/o-ring cost next to nothing on a site like Rockauto, so don't drive the car till you got them replaced.

I replaced the thermostat-tower for an alloy one in the same time, just to take the risk of 19 yr old brittle plastic away.

A good flush and fresh coolant at the end, all relative easy DIY jobs.

 

ok i did the water pump
now i see the water is boiling out from a tank on the bottom of the drivers side where a line from the overflow reservoir leads out
is it really the thermostat?

 

I dare to say YES, big chance, and U are playing with fire by overheating the engine every time ...

 

believe it or not
the thermostat was stuck and would not open even after boiling it in a pan
thank you all for the help and the encouragement
i cant believe it after all that the overflow reservoir light is coming on
its a new reservoir
new water pump
new thermostat
what now??????????????

now i would like to ask for some advice on the brake lights
i have checked the fuses
i have another brake switch and when i put it in the brake lights stay on and will not go off
so after investigating the internet
i have discovered that is could be something to do with the BRAIN

HELP!!!

 

Brake lights are most often the Security Locking Module (lots of threads). Available on eBay but you must match the frequency. There are folks who will sell theirs knowing they are no good. There is also an outfit in Idaho that will rebuild yours.

 

I replaced my water pump yesterday with the AC Delco unit. Nice design, al-YOU-min-e-um gasket with sealant, and metal impeller (some, including original are plastic). $ 46.79 plus shipping from Rockauto. The dealer charges so much because their water pump ALONE is $ 329.00. Yep.

My question is, that upon removing the old pump, I notice it had the aluminium gasket, the rubber O-ring, AND what appeared to be a very thin cork type gasket (or some fibrous material) that went between the aluminium gasket and the engine block. Has anybody ever noticed this?

The area I am talking about is the black outer ring area in photo 2 below.
The gasket covered that black outer ring. (The black inner ring is actually raised, holds the rubber O-ring, and inserts into the engine block.

 

Removed duplicate post.