I struggled a bit trying to find the correct coolant so I didn't need to spend the $160 quoted by my dealer for the official Jaguar coolant, $79 ea x 2 jugs. Hope this helps someone out. I will be using the Dex Cool as I prefer not to mix colors. It simply looks ugly but they say it would actually be better. My factory fill looks just like Dex Cool


My2009 Jaguar XKR is due for a coolant change. The spec in the manual states touse wss m97b44. Two hour drive to the dealer and quite expensive so looking for a compatiblereplacement. I was looking at Dexcool which I use in my Cadillacs but I do notsee any info on compatibility. Can you offer me some advice here? thanks



The Prestone DexCool is thefactory fluid for that car. If you look at the small print on the back ofthe Prestone Dex-Cool bottle, you should see the WSS-M97B44-D specificationlisted. We would actually recommend the Prestone Antifreeze/Coolant inthe yellow jug as it offers slightly better corrosion protection, but eitherone will work fine. Please let me know if you require anything further.
Sincerely,
Aaron Jones
Prestone Consumer RelationsRepresentative






Thanks Aaron. Am I correct that you are recommending thePrestone product that states “works with all coolant”? Is that alsoorange as I am not intending to do a complete flush and fill, simply drain theradiator and top off. In my experience the yellow bottle was always Green.



That is correct. Theproduct itself is yellow with a greenish tint, but it is fully compatible withDexCool and can be mixed with whatever is still left in the cooling system withno issue whatsoever. Please let me know if you require anything further.
Sincerely,
Aaron Jones
Prestone Consumer RelationsRepresentative

 

I have used the Universal Fill Part's Store Generic Green Yellow coolant in all my cars for the last thirty years with zero problems. The big problems w/ with coolant go back to the seventies Dexcool GM debacle wherein owners hadn't changed coolant in years; and it began to gel on them. The only real consideration for me is knowing some coolants have phosphates that can harm the aluminum in cooling systems; but even that is pretty much an issue relegated to the past.

Given that any coolant you use should be changed every 30 K or at least every couple of years, I change mine every time I do any system work. Since it is so cheap, I drain as much as possible whenever I pull a hose, or fix something like the T-stat. If I don't do any work on the cooling system, then I'll drain and refill at least every two years. Since I drain and fill so often, I have never found the incentive to flush a system. And don't forget... only distilled water. The key is keeping the coolant fresh and clean.

 

Thanks for the info. My car has been serviced by Jag since new and whenever I had service I always ask if the trans fluid or cooling system should be serviced. They always say don't touch anything until 100K. I never let my vehicles go more then 3 years and this one is almost eight years now with 50K so I am just going to do it myself, cheep insurance. They continue to tell me to leave the SC oil alone along with the trans. I will likely do those also. Not like a dealer to not take your money when you offer it up so I let it slide. I will be on the lookout for those fluids soon so if you have any feedback it would be appreciated. Even the engine oil that meets Jag specs is tough to find around here. I run Mobile 1 in everything I own but Mobile says there oil does not meet the Jag spec. Good thing I love this car to death as it can be a pain. Fortunately I have never has an issue other then oil changes and lots of tires, I dread the day that happens.

 

Your manual indicates replacement should meet specification WSS M97B44 (coloured orange) Extended Life Coolant -
Organic Acid Technology (OAT) was the first LLC / ELC introduced in North
America in 1994. OAT antifreeze had been widely used in Europe before its
introduction in North America. OAT can be either EG or PG but is mostly EG
based. Its first dye colors were orange and red. These dye colors are still used by General Motors and Caterpillar. Green, pink and blue have been added to the list April 2005 of available OAT antifreezes.
It is recommended that OAT not be mixed with any other antifreeze technology.
The normal OAT antifreeze service life is 5 years or 150,000 miles (250,000 km), whichever is first.
Chevron makes it, Motorcraft makes it and Prestone makes it.

I recommend a full flush and back flush and change the thermostat and housing at the same time.

There are plenty of nightmare stories from mixing antifreeze types over on the X350 forum, so with respect to Gordo, it's cheap insurance to flush out the old and replace with new and it's not relegated to the 70's.

Here's one:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...oolant-188618/

 

Yes, find Mandrakes thread on replacing the plastic bits. There was a good conversation about which plastic were compatible with which coolants. Green is no good. I have some generic in mine because I couldn't find the right stuff. When I replaced my expansion tank the generic stuff had separated from the orange and was sitting in the bottom of the tank.

 

I believe Audi antifreeze is OAT and compatible in the Jag cooling system .

 

Mixing ethylene Glycol with orange is bad for sure. When I purchased my 99 Eldorado the dealer flushed my system when it was new and put in ethylene glycol as they were having problems with the orange. They had me come back after 100 miles and flushed it again and all was well. But again, that was ethylene glycol. The new prestone green stuff is not the same. Prestone said the DexCool was the factory fill but a full flush could not hurt. Jag says only Jag will work but I cannot blame them for being safe. Just not sure why they need to charge such outrageous prices. Given what we paid for these things I guess I should simply suck it up and buy the jag stuff. I rebuilt a Northstar for one of my friends that mixed the two and it killed the engine. The water jacket was almost completely plugged with jelly, what a mess. That's why I am concerned about compatability. $200 bucks for piece of mind may be worth the cash

 

Colors don't mean much anymore as OATS comes in multiple colors now as well, but point taken. It used to be pinkish orange originally.

Jag branding is irrelevant once you flush and back flush and back flush the system. (and as you have an S/C, the coolant there as well)

Then a 50/50 blend of WSS M97B44 (any brand once system is flushed imo) and distilled water. Ultimately you have to sleep at night and you know about the gelling. I do my own work so dealer prices don't impact me as others, but as for the dealer, they're telling you 100k miles which is not a Jaguar Manual recommendation that I've seen and it's not the coolant manufacturers recommendation either, so take that into consideration when heeding their advice.

Here is the thread Ranchero refers to above:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...pieces-188911/

 

I'm not worried if I drain out whatever Jag spec'd coolant is currently in the car now and refill with the Green/Yellow 'universal' generic brand, that I will risk any damage whatsoever to my cooling system. I've been doing this for the last thirty years without incident, and nothing I've learned has changed my mind to the contrary. Maybe its because I drain and fill so often, but every time I drain the radiators on any of my cars, the coolant comes out clear and clean. And new coolant gets put back in at less than $10 per gallon. As for 'extended life' technology, I change the coolant in my cars so often, that in my opinion, I don't need an 'extended life" coolant. All I am concerned about is insuring the corrosion protection remains active and viable.

If someone feels compelled to spend $50 gallon on coolant because Jag says that's what you need to do, then please... be my guest. I won't try to convince them to do otherwise. If it buys that added peace of mind, then so much the better. It's probably worth it to them, and I would suggest they keep doing what works for them.

I am just stating my opinion, based on my experience and what works for me. The last thing I wish to do is get into another 'what's the correct oil to use?' discussion about engine coolant

 

Transmission on your model was originally designed to be "sealed for life" and that's what you'll see in your owners manual. ZF has since changed their position on that and you find all you need here:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ooting-191572/

Your on year 8 so it's time but not mission critical if you're strapped for cash. Dealer will want about $700 for it. The transmissions aren't unique to Jaguar so if you have a Hyundai dealer close by or an indy trans shop, they're used in BMW, AUDI, Hyundai as well. Don't feel like you have to use the original ZF fluid either. That has been de-mythed on this forum. You can do a full flush using Mercon SP. Change differential fluid at the same time.

Brakes get flushed every two years, no exceptions.

 

Thanks so much for the info. None of that has been done. On all my other vehicles I always follow severe service maintenance which usually means everything is done within three years or 30K miles. Until last year it was always dropped off at Jag at the end of the season and I told them to do what ever it needed. Same dealer since new so they know the car. Never had brakes, trans, rear diff, SC oil changed on any of the services. I'm guessing those Alcon brakes are not cheap to service either. Always told the same thing, don't touch it until 100K, just change the oil. Having owned several other jags in the past that were total junk but nicely styled I was always concerned about what was going to fail next. This thing has actually been one of the best cars I have owned. 8 years and 50K and only had oil changed as needed and lots and lots of tires. Always loved there cars and so glad they finally got styling, performance and RELIABILITY all in the same package. Pretty rare for an 8 year old car to be perfect. For the record, this thing gets driven hard and never misses a beat. I just built a new shop for my boys and I to play in with a lift so once I get all the fluids I will just do it all. Thanks again for the support

 

The dealer is quoting on their website $1,117 for this service....can this be true? And why?

 

Yes, very likely true. Just the cost of fluids and filters alone for a coolant flush and oil change is enormous. After a lot of searching and research I have concluded that Dex Cool and Mobile One will be my choice moving forward. Both meet the Jag requirements if you really dig deeply. I believe the Jaguar coolant was over $30/L at the dealer. Jag says use Castrol oil but I contacted Castrol Engineering and they have nothing here in the US, only Europe. Even Mobile One said they do not meet the Jag spec so be careful if still under Warrantee. My manual says "where not available" that you can use other brands. Also, the Jag stuff is not available in Japan so they give the same spec as Mobile One. Every other High Performance car I own states "Mobile One" as the factory fill. The head tech at the dealer told me (off the record) that no need to even run synthetic, any quality 5W30 would do and these 4.2's run forever. Good Luck

 

$100 materials, $50 labour, the remainder profit.

 

The Jaguar published service interval recommendations on my 2012 XK and 2013 XJ is 10 years or 150,000 miles, whichever comes first. I am not suggesting 10 years is a good idea. That is what Jaguar recommends.

 

Thanks for clarifying Dave. Yep, they indicate 10 years instead of 5 like the rest of the industry as noted in the 2010 onward service manual.

Interestingly, no such recommendation in the 07-09 owners manual or service manual. OP has an 09. IDK. Important to point out I guess as the recommendations are Jag specific in 2010 onward.

 

So how do you guys feel about the fact that the corrosion inhibitors present in OAT coolants will deteriorate and destroy all the plastic pieces in the cooling system?

Google gm intake manifold issues and then research how OAT coolant reacts to polyamide (nylon) plastic for further reading.

When you're done reading and are right pissed off at Jag for speccing parts and fluids to create the exact same scenario, go flush your system out and use Zerex. It's a HOAT, and is safe for plastic.

 

I'm not to concerned about it as there is no data that identifies how long it takes and whether the material that Jaguar uses is not suitable for this usage. Then there is the required maintenance cycle that if followed won't cause the issue. So considering they use this stuff in their total fleet of cars I don't consider it an issue.

 

I am more concerned about the effects of heat and aging on plastic parts in the cooling system than OAT corrosion inhibitors. Anytime I get the chance to replace with metal, the plastic is gone.

But like I alluded to earlier, the most important part of keeping these systems up and running is for me to keep a regular maintenance schedule on a car's cooling system. If I change coolant every two years and do a PM pressure test with the Stant tester, then I figure I'm always ahead of the game as far as system deterioration and subsequent leaks.

 

Anyone else using HOAT in their XK's? I'd like to switch to this
I just want to confirm that there isn't any issues with using this
due to insufficient anti-corrosion agents etc.

Thanks