Does the following sound reasonable, AND, are there any writeups?

My 2010 NA XK is now 5 y old (still a baby, but). My GM car, which uses the same type of antifreeze, has a 5 y, 100K mileage required flush, while Jag specifies 10 y 150K.

Question - if the fluid is the same, what is different with the Jag? I've changed the coolant in the GM car at 8 y and 40K (I got the car used), and it had a some indication of old age regarding the coolant (brown foam/crud).

I'd like to be on the safe side, particularly since coolant is pretty cheap and my labor even cheaper.

(1) What are your thoughts about changing the coolant now, (2) might it protect the water pump (our car has known problems with that) and (3) any known write-ups (I couldn't find any even for the Land Rover with the same engine.

Regardless of my above ramblings unencumbered by the thought process, my coolant level and its color look peachy keen in the reservoir (no foam/crud).

Thanks!

 

Oil change intervals have extended with improvements in oil itself and cleaner running engines due to emission control and tighter component tolerances. Back in the 70's, the oil coming out of my XJ6's was always thick and black - the oil from my XK looks much the same coming out as it did going in.

A similar advance applies to coolant which is certainly a considerably more complex formulation than the simple glycol 'anti-freeze' of years gone by. The concern is:

1. whether repeated heating/cooling cycles cause deterioration
2. there is a possibility of contaminant build-up.

One thing is sure - Jaguar will neither be concerned or responsible if coolant causes issues beyond five years!

I'd take the same approach you do and carry out a change and flush at more frequent intervals.

Let the arguments commence!

Graham

 

Coolant changes are cheap insurance, but is not a guarantee against eventual water pump failure. Jaguar has an easy-access radiator drain, which can be reached without raising the car. Some coolant will remain in the block.

Anyone know how to further drain the block?

 

I just did a coolant change on my 08 XKR along with flush. I tried to change the thermostat but autozone sold me the wrong one. I figured it was too good to be true when it was only $13. Anyways, it is a very straight forward process and at 75k miles the coolant looked like it had contaminants in it. I went with the Ravenol J4D2000


The flush process is simple but the manual I got has instructions in 3 different places for what I was doing. It told me for the flush I needed to remove the MAF plug and the intake filter housings. I thought this was crazy and just removed the bottom panel and started flushing from the bottom of the radiator. I had to disconnect one hose at the bottom of the radiator opposite of the drain screw per the manual for the flush. On the topside I disconnected the thermostat housing hoses (I think I had to remove one or 2 bolts holding some cables that sat on top of the thermo before disconnecting hoses). I then took a 5 gal bucket of water and filled with filtered water. Used a funnel and poured into the overflow tank and the thermostat hose. Once all the dripping stopped I capped it all up and filled. At first it didn't take a bunch but in the bleeding process it took more. I bled it a few times to ensure all air was out and kept an eye on the level for the first few heat cycles and added some as needed.

Enjoy!

 

Thanks, Radiatn, for the info.

While mine is a MY2010 and perhaps different compared to a MY2008, would you explain the "bleeding process"?

Best,
~wrair

 

The GM "brown sludge" is stop leak. All GMs have it from the factory.

 

per the manual it said to remove the supercharger bleed screw on top (large allen wrench). start the car with heater full blast. add coolant to the supercharger spot as much as you can. shut car off. close all coolant screws/caps. start car again with heater full blast and let the car warm while idling. once warm shut off car. let cool then add coolant as needed. I do a couple heat cycles and add as needed.

 

I'm planning to do a coolant flush on the XKR 4.2 in a couple of months time.

I'll a little confuse on how to refill the coolant once its drained out of the radiator. The workshop manual say, to loosen the bleeder valve on the expansion tank and refill the coolant from there. Keep refilling until no bubbles comes out.

Also how do you remove the old coolant from the engine?
Do you refill with distilled water from the top radiator hose, run the car to operating temperature and then drain and refill with distilled water repeat until all the water comes out clear?
Once clear then do the final refill with the proper coolant?

Thanks for the heads up.

 

I followed the workshop manual, in lieu of the vacuum system. That is,
0. heater set to max
1. loosen the supercharger fill port and open reservoir
2. drain via the radiator drain plug, tighten plug
3. fill via the reservoir until no bubbles, top up via the supercharger port
4. ignition on, continue to fill via the port
5. once topped up, tighten plug.
6. start engine, bring to a warm engine
7. stop engine, let cool, top up reservoir if necessary.

I haven’t ever bothered with flushing as it is indicated to use a flushing fluid (not water) and to do so by removing the upper and lower hoses and the thermostat.. I wasn’t so energetic.

 

A 100% flush is tricky to do without the correct machinery, or making a mess as in the old days when you hooked a garden hose on one end of a disconnected line and walked away for ten minutes.
You CAN disconnect whatever is lowest on the system, but there will always be coolant in the block. Applying compressed air, or the blow-side of a vacuum cleaner, or a leaf blower to some hose and it'll be messy, but get more stuff out.
Then refill as required.
The thermostat always causes a problem because it's a temporary blockage and not worth the effort to remove or open up.
Do your best. Do it again next year if you think it wasn't enough this year.
Or, go to nearly any independent with a coolant recovery system. The labor end is about $200 to save a lot of mess and work.

 

Thanks Guy, I thought the supercharger cooling system was totally separate from the main cooling system, hence the separate electric coolant pump for the supercharger?

 

The 5.0 cooling systems are a PIA to fill properly without a vacuum fill. After changing all my hoses throughout the system it took many trips before the system settled to the proper level. There always seems to be air lurking somewhere before it eventually purges itself.

 

With all the problems the XKs have in its cooling system like broken connectors, broken thermostat housings and malfunctioning thermostats, wait until you have to break into the system, before you go changing the coolant. Then change all of it, instead of topping up.
Murphy's Law. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

True enough, the cooling systems on the 5 l seem much more delicate than that on the 4.2.

At 100,000 km I changed all the hoses and thermostat. (along with coils, spark plugs, power steering reservoir) Every 50k km I change all the fluids.
Truth be known, I’m on the original pump, supercharger pump and radiator (says… while knocking head)

 

The corrosion inhibitors in coolant do get used up and depleted by heat and age. The results over time the coolant will become acidic and corrosive. Yes newer coolant has a longer life but they still need to be changed. Personally I rather do preventative maintenance as its cheaper and less of a headache in the long run then fixing something that was preventable in the first place. I suppose you can use a PH tester on the coolant but the coolant has been in there for 15 plus years. I think its time to flush it out.

The EU made a big push on everything being recyclable in the early 90s, hence the higher use of plastics. Polymer chemistry has a finite life and we are seeing the results of this now. I was repairing the glovebox a couple of weekends ago. The plastic in the glovebox is not expose to UV but to heat and parts of the glovebox just crumbled in my hands. If I have to repair the plastic parts again I will either use fibreglass or use the 3D printer at work to make a better mount.