So if you all have been following me you know I have replaced all hoses on the car, t-stat housing, water pump. Since the last part to be installed, WP, I have been driving it for weeks now off and on, short drives, drives on the HWY, no prob at all.
Well last night, it is about 15 degree outside. I am driving it about 20 min on the HWY and I get off the HWY and hear the belts squealing for about 20 seconds then silence. I drive it another 4 min to home. Put in the garage and go in the house. I think, that was just not right, the squeal. I pop the hood and god damn, rad fluid had puked directly across from the new t-stat housing on top of the fan shroud and some straight down on the susp below. Most of the front of the motor is dry, a little drippage on the lower pulleys. Bone dry around the new WP (that I torqued down correctly) nice and dry around the hoses connected to the t-stat. All t stat bolts dry, bone dry behind the t stat (valley hoses).
Sat over night, looked at it today saw no wet spots, dried up dribble lines, nothing under car.
There was one radiator hose, upper, at the t stat that the clamp has about a good one turn with a screw driver loose. Drove it again today, had my toque app on, running between 185.6 to 190.
Only note is that last night, about 15 degree out the heat was warm on high, fairly warm. Today about 25 degree out it was much warmer. Is that telling me something?
This car is about to get the best of me. Been 8 months of pain and anger keeping getting this to a pace that I feel comfy and trust to drive it myself and then for a wife that would not know a PROBLEM leak before it is too late.
I know these cars are temperamental but basic cooling issues should be easy fixes!

 

BRG, check the top of the thermostat housing. If I remember rightly, you did put the aluminum housing on and that top could be loose.
The temperature could not have helped man or beast.


Wayne, Sorry, BRG, see you have a 03.

 

03 car, no alum tstat avail. I put a new complete stock unit on it couple month ago.

 

and as far as I can tell the rad fluid is not coming from the RADIATOR. This leak was a engine forward quick leak.

 

Are you sure it's not power steering fluid? I had red fluid on my driveway, traced it to power steering rack and replaced it FOUR TIMES in one week as the three rebuilt ones all leaked.

 

nah, smelled and tasted like Rad fluid, the stuff that was leaked.

 

Did you replace the entire plastic coolant outlet duct, not just the thermostat housing part of it? My wife's 2006 XK8's thermostat housing sprung a slow leak back in November. I considered replacing just the thermostat and its housing and was quickly talked out of that approach by a number of experts here on the forum. The entire plastic assembly grows weak over time and heat cycles and has a tendency to warp. If you replace just the thermostat and its housing, you still have a warped coolant outlet duct and it will eventually leak again. So the best approach is to replace the entire assembly, Jaguar part no. AJ89486. At the same time I replaced the fragile plastic hose leading from the coolant outlet duct to the coolant expansion reservoir with a section of 5/16-inch fuel hose and two worm-drive clamps. It's been about 45 days and about 2,000 miles since I did this repair and the coolant system has not leaked one drop since....

 

I replaced the whole ball of wax. Perhaps it as a lose hose. Like I mentioned the upper hose clamp on the tstat housing when I thought maybe it was loose did in fact have one turn of a screw drive on it. I thus far have not be able to duplicate the issue.

 

just drove it again. Left heat off, now letting it sit again see it is leaks. I don't get it. I guess I could get pressure checker from a car parts place and check it that way. I will note that since I got it fixed up, WP hoses, that the gauge which normally sat JUST below the mid mark was ON the mid mark more than not of late. I know when we got it it was just below and on my 97 it always ran just below mid mark. Could that be a sign of something? My fans are kicking on when I let it sit. I hate cars that do this **** with no apparent reason.

 

Let it sit more, let it heat up, using the torque app it went from 194-199, fans came on what seemed at normal times, bring the temps back down to 194/195. My dash gauge stayed right below middle to JUUUST above middle then back to middle.
I can't get it to leak again. DAMN CAR. ha ha ha. If related my ac is not coming on and has a code 23, compressor not coming on.

 

No idea why it took WEEKS before it leaked but ran a pressure test today and it made the lower rad hose at the tstat leak. I looked closer to it and could see that the clamp was not squared up on the tstat, it was tightened down on an angle. So I pulled off the hose and checked where I should prob put the clamp over the hose once on the tstat. I made sure the clamp was on correctly and did the pressure check again and it held with no other leaks. I guess that hose was my once off leak for what ever reason. My next question is why did it leak that one time?

 

Brg, well done and thanks for letting us know. Funny how we can get things in the perfect position and when they are tightened up they want to go sideways. Glad to know it wasn't a big deal and the pressure pump was able to locate it.


Wayne

 

Can't comment on the leak, but I can say that since I replaced my t-stat tower, my car runs about five or so degrees cooler than it used to. Perhaps the new thermo is for a different temp (I did not verify it before installing), or perhaps it is opening better than the old one. Either way, the car seems happy. And that makes me happy.

 

I have no clue what my temps were with the old tstat.