Hi all,my 2009 xk base is overheating. I think it is a stuck thermostat.The dealer wants $700.00 to replace it Does that seem right?
Is this a job an average guy can handle?.Thanks in advance .

 

Ouch! That’s quite a labor charge, since the parts are around $150 IIRC.
I replaced mine a couple years ago on my 2007 XK, not too hard. Be sure to replace the housing at the same time, as it is plastic and can fail over time.

 

Ouch. My Bobby Rahal Jaguar dealer charged $280 in Summer of '20 to replace mine.

 

yes, very high, but common from Jag dealerships - see if another shop (independent) can do the job for you.

 

$700? Insane. A shade tree mechanic like me could do it in 1.5 hours including lots of breaks to change up the music in the garage.

 

Honestly it takes longer to refill and do the coolant bleed procedure than to change out the thermostat. Well at least it did for me 😁 But maybe that's where all the extra labor cost is coming in?? 🤔

Had to do mine twice after replacing coolant hoses under supercharger because 1st time I goofed install and t-stat was stuck open and had constant MIL for 'coolant temp too low' or something to that effect. Got it 2nd time though 😁 Been good ever since (knock on wood).

 

Just to let the xkr guys know the xk has its thermostat housing in a completely different location then the xkr it's a lot easier to swap out the xkr variety.

 

Thanks... I did not know that!

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-xk-na-206609/

 

If it is a three-piece thermostat that's on the XKR 07-09 and others that used three piece. We have them available in lower temperature by 10° , and with failure point the rubber surround that's prevalent in factory units eliminated for better reliability.

 

The price is not that far out of line considering half of that’s likely parts and fluid and the rest labor. It’s easy to forget the costs of running a franchise business when you look at what it costs for DIY.

Except for those who markup parts beyond MSRP and inflate the actual number of hours beyond book time, I’d say main dealers are not as expensive as many may insist and their level of expertise and experience and 12-month additional warranty coverage well worth the cost.

 

I tend to agree here with jahammer....that is if you get the "right" tech working on your car. The coolant refill if not done properly can cause havoc. Its something to consider as Jag techs should have theoretically performed this numerous times and might be aware of the fragility of our inferior plastic parts. Will the Indy know where to be cautious when taking things apart? It sounds simple, and it might be, but sometimes experience helps even with the small stuff.

 

MoparDude,
I have the same XKR as you and suspect my t-stat is not opening. Does the coolant flow from the coolant manifold through the t-stat to the driver side hose (which I assume goes to the radiator)? I can feel the smaller "clipped in"hose that is connected at the t-stat location getting warm, but the larger hose is not getting warm. Hence, my assumption the t-stat is not opening. Thanks in advance.

FWIW....I just finished replacing the water pump and a doing all the operational checks when I found the t-stat issue. Also found the electric cooling fan running and it sounds like it's been running all the time, bearings are loosening up and spins a good while after engine is off. I just purchased this car, so no telling...but will have to check it out. Knock on wood it keeps running for a while...thanks.

 

I believe it's actually opposite of what you are thinking. It flows from rad, up driver side rad hose, thru t-stat and into coolant manifold where it then branches off into 713 different flow paths lol

Attached pic should confirm it. Also, from experience I had reinstalled (or rather assembled) the new t-stat backwards the first time and obviously the XKR let me know it wasn't happy, got the warning light on dash. So I shut it down and after a visit on here and some investigation on my own that's what I found. T-stat installed incorrectly.
From what you describe though, you are most certainly not getting flow through t-stat, and failed or improperly installed is what I would check first.
Electric fan(s) powered on constantly is a sign temp is way up there. They kick on when car is overheating.

 

Thanks for reply. Great info. One question, what is the direction of flow from the t-stat to the auxiliary coolant flow pump? I assume that is the "clipped in" hose. I don't see an arrow on it?

I had planned on replacing the t-stat at some point and had purchased one with the water pump. Was hoping it was ok before I committed to changing it. No sense taking something apart if you don't need to.

BTW....my car is identical to yours, same dash, wheels, interior, etc. I do have fewer miles at 25k.

Although, it seems to be a hard 25k miles as it looks like the previous owner was fairly careless about care for the car with all the issues I am finding. It saw the dealer and an indy shop a couple of times from the Carfax report, but they or the owner missed a few things. Or else knew it and just wanted to dump the car off and not deal with it. I knew about some of the issues when buying it, but I'm finding more as I work on it. None of them are huge deals except the dash leather pulling up on the passenger side. But at least I can give it the TLC it needs and will take care of the issues over the next few months. If you know of anyone who has had success at repairing the dash leather, please let me know.
Thanks for all the info.