Hi there!

My V12 bypass pipe was well corroded and not far from being f**ked. So I bought a used one... I was going to install it without any worries, as it looked totally fine. Nothing wrong at all...




I checked it super carefully to make sure no damage or holes were missed. Couldn't see anything wrong with it. But my gut feeling said to get it sandblasted and respray it, as it is out, might as well...




And then this appeared:



A nice about 4 cm long crack/split in the pipe. So, I can only highly recommend anyone to definitely check his/her pipe, as they seem to be a little problem. Steel pipes were never really the best idea for water/coolant systems! And if that had failed, latest in a jam my V12 would have said "Banana time!"

Keep your eyes open!

 

And now follows a "this is what it looks like, if you don't pay attention to your bypass pipe":



And this is the detailed picture of what it looks like, when you just bodge something:



If I had driven my XJ-S in summer on a hot day in German city traffic, I'd have had a warped banana engine...!

Keep your eyes as open as possible! This pipe isn't available new but you can repair/replace it rather cheaply! The engine not so!