I suffered a valley hose failure for the third time on my 08 XKR. After tearing it down, this is what I discovered.

For those of you familiar with the hose (condolences), this is exactly how I found it.
On my last install I never moved the hose clamp up! Total bonehead move. It's been many a long year since I pulled a stunt like this.
The remarkable part is that I drove it like that for well over a year and a half before it overcame the friction fit and blew off.
In all that time I was experiencing a very minor coolant loss that I attributed to the auxiliary pump inlet hose. Perhaps I was wrong on that too.
Anyhow, feel free to abuse me. 😖

 

My man...we've all been there (whether we admit it on social media or not!)

Now, who among us hasn't lost a few 10mm sockets?

 

Don't beat yourself up too much.
Yesterday, I removed the throttle body from my 1997 XK8 for the first time ever, not because there is anything wrong with the throttle body itself but because I need to remove the inlet manifold to replace the valley hoses and the thermostat tower. Anyway, after removing the throttle body I flipped it over to give it a good clean and found that this was how the coolant hose had been clipped to the spigot at the Jaguar factory.
Obviously not a great day at Browns Lane.

 

But at the end of the day... that hose and connection have lasted 28 years??

 

Yes, that's undeniably true. I've never seen a hose clip half-mounted on the spigot but, as you say, it has survived the test of time and 80k miles.

Richard

 

I’ve not removed my SC so I’m not familiar with the hose set up below it. My question is, with a endoscope can the hoses be viewed without removing the SC? 07 4.2 SC thank you.

 

What would it matter. At 18 years old, with the heating/cooling cycles, those hoses are at the end of their life. And if you blow one...

 

I think for many of us, the quandary is lack of up to 18 years of service records. Mine came with 6y detailed plus verbal on what he knew the original owner did.
The SC was fully serviced but zero indication that the valley hoses were touched.
Very expensive endeavor to replace, which I’d do with the metal pipes if I did. (I think I remember that being a thing)
Having a peek around under there to at least look for signs of wear or issues for peace of mind would be good.
Totally agree with “why take a chance?” As nobody wants a $25,000 paper weight.
But at least for me, if I’m faced with adding 5-6 grand to what I’ve put into a car I’ve had for less than a year, I’d be reconsidering the car.
Not to mention the dozens of horror stories I’ve seen/read where when removing all the things that have to be removed (mostly hoses), it daisy chains into another $1,000 in random parts that can be hard to find.
Whew, what did I get myself into? Lol.

 

in April of 2023 I sent my car to a JRL dealership for many maintenance items including all hoses and especially the valley hoses. My paperwork states “all Radiator hoses” and I asked if the valley hoses were replaced. They said all the hoses were replaced. The cost $450 usd. I just want to be sure the valley hoses were replaced. Yes, I have trust issues, I like to inspect as much of the work as I can.
I will also add that I purchased the car in 2021 with few service records. I’ve now learned that you buy the service records as much as you buy the car.

 

I DID have all my hoses replaced when I suspected a leak that turned out to be the oil cooler, but took that opportunity to replace injectors along with the hoses. I ALSO took that opportunity to have zero pressure / zero boil coolant installed so I'd never have to worry about a catastrophic leak again. The car does run about 4 degrees F higher in summer heat, but that's fine. It's still well within limits.

 

Thank you Cee Jay. What is zero pressure/boil coolant?

 

Specifically Evans Waterless Coolant. It's a bit pricey and needs to be installed correctly with flushes and such, but it's 'guaranteed' for over 300,000 miles. I've used it for a LONG time in my old P/S Mustang since antifreeze is forbidden on drag tracks.

 

The valley hoses are wrapped up in an insulation blanket and would be hard to get at with a scope.
Like others said, if they are old, replace them before they become a liability.
DO have an active OBD temp gauge in your car! It saved me this time and a couple others.

 

Curious. I have the Veepak BT OBD always plugged in.
It is connected to a phone app (that displays on my carplay) where I watch LTFT on both banks and Coolant temp.
You said it saved you. As I, thanks to the forums, am extremely paranoid about a coolant catastrophy.
Sounds like you have an ample amount of time to react and shut it down before things go awry?
Where do you set the alarm for your OBD? I think I have mine at 225F.

 

I installed the cabrio bob afair some years ago. I find I don't use it very often, only on longer trips ,,(which doesn't make much sense)!
But I have a convert, top down much of the time. My alarm was flashing like mad one afternoon, never saw the warning as LEDs are hard to see n bright sunshine.
Maybe having it makes me feel better, not too certain I wouldn't notice the smell or steam quick enough to shut down without the actual gauge/ alarm. But I'm old and pay attention to driving.
wj

 

I have my alarm set at 220. My car usually runs around 208-212 in the summer, so if it gets to 220 I know something is up.

 

Well, to each his own.
I do not drive around with an ODBII device connected. But I think I am acutely aware of the health of my cars… checking under the hood at every car wash, fill up, hearing an unrecognized sound, or a new vibration or odour.
That 4.2 engine is a workhorse. Extremely robust. But those hoses are often overlooked based on the rumour they are difficult and expensive to get to.
Incidentally, on the 4.2, I don’t think there is an aluminum tube option. And don’t kid yourself that it will reduce your maintenance in the area… you will still need to deal with o-rings on some schedule.
While the s/c is off, drain and refill the fluid. Its an Eaton s/c. Everyone (ford, gm, …) supplies the fluid.

 

Just to remind new owners of the 4.2 naturally aspirated engines that there is in fact a short valley hose (below). It only goes about 6 in into the valley, then loops back to the throttle body. But it's there, and with the 07's coming up on 19 years in service, it's ready to be replaced. Unless there's someone here who says they didn't need to, the intake manifold needs to come off, meaning those gaskets need to be replaced as well.

 

Below is the Valley Hose for the 4.2 na. I bought a URO part for around $7, and then decided I'd find the OEM which seems to be a more robust design. I believe you can read the part numbers.

 

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