Anybody convert there xk8 to waterless coolant
 

I've been considering changing over when I replace the hoses and do a flush. Everything I've read seems very positive, lifetime fluid that you drain and reuse if you work on the system, nearly double boil rate so no pressure on the system etc.

I have no facts or opinions, but check out this forum thread.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ant-xk8-83915/

I used it on my MB SLK after a large "egg" appeared on the top hose at 30K due to separation of the inner rubber. The cooling system pressure did the rest. I flushed the system, changed all the hoses and cleaned out any remaining liquid with low pressure compressed air.
The stuff seems to work OK, I don't notice any difference in cooling performance other than there is no pressure build up at all. I did install a hotter thermostat at the same time as the engine always ran on the cool side of normal.
Probably not worth the extra cost when compared to 50/50 Dex Cool, but I do like the "no pressure" feature. Probably never have a burst hose, leaking clamp or dripping water pump again......well we can all dream.

To me it only takes a couple years to recoup the cost (assuming that hour wasted changing the dex cool out the 2nd time around is included). It is the lifetime fluid that intrigues me the most about it along with the no pressure feature. Plus it would be the test car for the TVR. Have you noticed any gains in mpg out of it since the engine is running a bit warmer?

I do have an improvement I'm MPG, I get a noticeable improvement on highway trips. I'm running a 200F thermostat, the engine stays right at 205F. I did change the fan thermo switch to a 220F unit. Engine warm up is faster and the added bonus is that the oil comes up to temperature faster also. I hooked up my ODBII scanner in record mode for a couple of days of mixed driving to make sure there were no heat spikes or heat soak problems. 20k miles now with no issues.

Here's the video of Ed China putting it into a

Just to clarify a common misconception, swapping over to this fluid will not result in a 'no pressure' system. All fluids expand when heated, the waterless coolants are no different.

To achieve a 'no pressure' system, the radiator cap would need to be modified to release pressure as it increases during engine warm up.

The guy in the video is also incorrect with his statement that unleaded fuel causes engines to run hotter. :icon_slap:

The overflow cap just needs to be vented, it is pretty easy to do and even if you don't, waterless coolant would create less pressure then a water cooled system at the same temp as it doesn't reach boil point until nearly 375 degrees instead of 212. Pressure isn't needed so why would you want it IMO.

As someone who owns and drives a leaded fuel set up car and runs unleaded in it I can tell you that it runs a good bit warmer maybe 5 degrees c. When I don't put a lead additive in the fuel. Don't know why, really don't care why, just know that it does.

Normal coolant mix does not boil at 212. At a 50/50 mix and a standard rad cap, it boils at 265 degrees F.

The boiling point of the fluid has little to do with expansion coefficient from ambient to normal engine operating temperature. Either fluid would expand during warm up until the pressure rating of the cap is reached and excess fluid vented to the coolant recovery tank. Nothing gained.

All of these facts were pointed out in the link above.

Water does in fact boil at 212. 50/50 varies by manufacturer and ingredients but the only way you get it higher is by increasing the pressure. I think you get about 3 degrees per pound of pressure. Evans waterless doesn't boil over until you hit 375 degrees which I should hope you never hit. Again, I'm not asking for anyone's peanut gallery internet mechanic information. Just the simple question I asked. Anybody using waterless coolant in their XK8?

What's gained is never having to replace the fluid again, likely never having to replace hoses for 30 years or so and its far superior corrosion capabilities since there is no water there. That's a lot more gained then by not answering my question, isn't it?:D

Good luck.

You forget, once you mix the coolant in, it is no longer water. It is different from a solid being suspended in water, it is actually a homogeneous solution at that point. And the boiling points quoted by the manufacturers are at atmospheric pressure.

Speaking only of conventional coolant, brand of antifreeze, or type of antifreeze makes little difference because over 95 percent of the coolant content is ethylene glycol. Just look at the MSDS.

No I forget nothing regarding the boil points of fluids, however, again you as well as Mikey are forgetting the whole point of this thread. Are you using the fluid? Have you used the fluid? If not why are you answering something that wasn't asked? I know why he is answering as a hundred ten years ago he would have been running around telling people that the car will never replace the horse. Just a sense I get by reading most of his posts is that he doesn't like change and does not keep vehicles long enough to realize how much many of his comments regarding the negatives of conventional coolant is over the long haul.

Lef me ask this again, Please reply to the thread if you have used waterless coolant in your XK8. I don't need peanut gallery comments from those who stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night, those who "read" bad things about the President on the internet or those who live under rocks and like the taste of coolant. Just personal experiences with waterless coolant.

I have not installed waterless (Evans?) coolant in an XK8, but plan to do so for my '07 XK. My XK has the same motor basically as your XK8, and I do not anticipate any issues with Evans Coolant.
I had a Chrysler PT Cruiser which I changed to Evans Coolant about ten years ago. My nephew has the car now with over 100K miles on the coolant. There have been no issues whatsoever. The radiator cap is left somewhat loose so that any expansion pressure is reduced.
John Fitch, a great American race driver and inventor, was instrumental in Evans' development. Check out Fitch on Wikipedia. He was a very modest man to tended towards understatements. My feeling is that Fitch's endorsement of any product is good enough for me.

Sometimes you need to pioneer, although I don't think there will be big risks here with the waterless system, so go for it I would say, it has some good positives. The XKR is mentioned in the thread from post #2 is still driving properly.

I'm all in favour of pioneering- look at the ongoing discussion of brake fluid change intervals and the never-quite-dead octane battles, but sometimes an alternate product or process is not much more than an expensive solution in desperate search of a problem. Poly suspension bushing are an ideal example.

The OP might want to broaden his search beyond XK models or just Jaguars for that matter. It's fairly easy to find testimonials from owners of other car types. It's also easy to sort the credible stores from those where the owner took the marketing bait verbatim (ver-bait-em?) and of course has noted all sorts of marvellous changes- classic placebo effect.

The vast majority of stories are similar to Rey above- installed it X number of months years ago and it works fine. No claimed improvements over conventional coolant though.

A bit of a conundrum- I'm pretty sure that the late John Fitch must have stayed at a Holiday Inn at one point or another. :icon_bricks:

Outstanding thread. And quite coincidental - I "just" watched the Wheeler-Dealer TR6 show just last week and want to put the Evans elixir into not only the modified Convertible GT6 I'm building, but also the XKR when I get around to flushing the coolant.

BTW: she's approaching 125,000 miles and I see only one hose that "might" be starting to bulge. In any other car I'd be changing all the hoses just as a matter of course, but this thing has, shall we say, a "FEW" more pipes than a mere car. What is the consensus on hose replacement?

Thanks! - Jim M

I have two bulging hoses and the original plastic coolant tree so I'm replacing all of them on my xk8. Just changed fluid in the xjr earlier this year at 90k and left all the hoses intact as they show no signs of age yet. Was hoping to see if anyone here had done it and mostly if they had trouble getting all the water out/ how they got it all out.

Getting all the water out:

Someone mentioned draining and then blowing with compressed air. Plus, I would imagine any little bit of water that might remain should eventually just evaporate out over time, especially if we run with a loosened cap (or no cap at all) for a while.