It's possible some of the part no. changes may have been simply supplier changes, rather than an attempt to fix issues. But, yeah, would be interesting to know whether any of the previous versions were duds too. I seem to recall that the 4.0 V8 timing chain tensioners went through several revisions before they got it right.

 

Hi guys, been a forum member for a couple of years, but don't post much. Today, the wife started her 2009 XKR while I was standing in the garage, and the sound I heard made me tell her to take my car to work. It make a clankey kind of sound that I knew wasn't right, I've noticed a tiny bit of anti-freeze on the floor lately, so putting two and two together I'm pretty sure the water pump is shot. Removed the plastic engine cover and sure enough there's evidence of fluid leakage under where the thermostat housing is. I'm guessing the water pump is there as well, but not 100% sure which is the pulley for the supercharger and which is the water pump. But, I'm a gonna tear into it anyway and see what I can find. Anyone have experience on changing a water pump? Any pointers would be appreciated!

 

How many miles on your wife's 4.2L 2009 XKR? Are you certain that the water pump is leaking? That's a common problem with the 5.0L engines, but not the 4.2L. Other possibilities include the upper and lower water hoses, the thermostat housing, the radiator itself, and the plastic overflow tank. I'd confirm the diagnosis before replacing the water pump.

 

There's just over 72,000 on it. (It's her daily driver, and yeah, she loves it!). I am certain now that it's the water pump. I loosened the belt, turned it by hand, and saw that the pulley was flopping all over the place, and it made the same clunking sounds. So yeah, it's that fer sure. Now, I have the thing off the engine - that was easy, 3 bolts to remove the pulley, and 6 more for the pump itself - but I can't get it out of the engine compartment! It won't fit past the thermostat housing or the supercharger pulley, so I guess the thing to do is get the thermostat out of the way, cuz I don't want to mess with the blower if I don't have to...
I'll try to get some decent pictures to post.

 

The day before yesterday, after a three week stint at my indie mechanic for my 2010 XKR to address some issues and to do some maintenance, and respray the front bumper to get rid of hundreds of rock chips, I picked up my car. Yesterday morning, I see a puddle of pink fluid on my driveway, and I was not amused. I had taken the car in to address an oil leak coming from valve cover gasket, some unwanted noises coming from front end suspension, flush the power steering fluid and replace, and spray the bumper. So when I saw a new leak, I was not happy. As a pink fluid leak I figured had to be either power steering fluid, anti-freeze, or transmission fluid. I brought the car in again this morning just to check up on the lift, And lo and behold, it appears the water pump is leaking the long life pinkish coolant. This is somewhat surprising since we replaced the old water pump about a year ago when it began rattling so much that I thought I had some seized bearings in the supercharger. So the newest pump of one year vintage is now bad again, and I'll be installing the third water pump come this Friday. I'm not sure why these water pumps are so susceptable to damage but the 5.0L cars seem to be eating them alive. And by the way, the unwanted suspension noises turned out to have come from the control arms, which we replaced, and now it drives just like it did when I bought it, taut, quiet, refined! I also had the catalytic converters and O2 sensors replaced (got tired of the once a month CEL warnings, I just want to have one month without any issues. Just venting.

 

 

I will take it in either Friday or Monday, and I will make sure to get the number off of the defective unit as well as the new one, and I will post them. I thought I wouldn't have to do this again so soon.

 

Tberg, I see you're a fellow Los Angeleno. Who's your indie?

 

XJ8JR,
I use Sako's Auto on Parthenia St., in Northridge, just west of Reseda Bl. He has worked on all of my cars for many years, including my XJ8, and both my XKRs.

 

That's not too far from me. Good to know. Thanks.

 

Tomorrow I am picking up my car and will check the serial number on the old pump. It turns out we put it in in January, 2017, so its one year warranty was over a few months ago. I'm not really happy that a water pump doesn't even last 1 1/2 years. And this one didn't just seep a little, it left 2 quarts of antifreeze on my driveway overnight. I'll report back tomorrow evening.

 

Mine was seeping from behind the pump somewhere and pooling in the engine valley. Have been smelling coolant for 4 years off and on, finally found the spot where it was leaking. New pump is ordeed along with all new orings and plastic pipe

 

Didn't have time to pick my car up today, will get tomorrow and see if I have part numbers.
Thanks

 

Jaguar's water pump failures are a drop in the bucket compared to BMW's. From Carbuzz.com:



BMW. It's name says it all - Blew My Water pump.

 

 

My XJ's was replaced under warranty. Regardless, it's not a huge expense if you DIY or pay an indie.

 

Just speculating, but wonder why the water pumps on 4.2s last and the 5.0s do not? Basic design of the two pumps is very similar. Perhaps there is much heavier loading on belt tension on the 5.0, even the N/A XK version? This alone could lead to bearing overload.
Perhaps it is time to explore replacing the belt-driven pump for an aftermarket electric pump. Maziere has long made electric pumps for race cars, and now they are offering pumps for daily-drivers. No doubt an electric pump will require some careful engineering.
As for me, I recently acquired a low-milage'13 XK . I have changed coolant to Evans Waterless Coolant, which has a 375F boiling point and permits me to run coolant at zero pressure, thus relieving pressure on water pump seals. I have used this coolant for many years on other cars and about three years on my '07 XK. I monitor coolant temp with a ScanGauge, and can attest to no material change in temperature vs conventional coolant.
Evans Coolant is the real deal. Check out Jaguar World. It is used by many restoration shops. One of its developers was John Fitch. Fitch was one of the greatest American race car drivers and automotive engineers. Check his bio on Wikipedia. Fitch was always conservative and cautious about endorsing anything.

 

Rey - When you changed over to Evans Waterless Coolant how did you flush the system? Did you use air pressure. From what I understand the waterless coolant can handle up to 3% water. Thanks

 

 

When I changed to Evans Coolant I "flushed" the system with pure "orange" antifreeze. Draining the system, according to Jaguar's work manual, requires only use of the radiator drain, which is simply accessed. I don't think this fully drains the system. There is an additional drain plug on the left side of the block, which is also used as the port for an optional block heater. I did not use this additional drain. It was practically inaccessible to me - an overweight 79 year old lying on my back. What I did do was to apply air pressure to the small port on the coolant recovery tank. This caused the motor to "burp" out more coolant. So, I then flushed once more with orange antifreeze (NAPA brand at about $14/gal). After finally adding Evans I have left the main coolant cap a bit loose (no pressure). There is still a minor amount of water in the system. With the pressure cap loose, this water vaporizes and escapes. When I did my '07 years ago, it took several weeks for all the water to evaporate. I simply checked the system and added make-up Evans Coolant from time-to-time. Coolant level became very stable. It is not necessary to drill a hole in the tank lid. Just leave it a bit loose.