Coolant is low; must I get coolant from Jaguar or can I use another brand?

Coolant is a brown color, not green or orange and no there is no foam on the dipstick.

Thanks.

 

What dipstick??

Coolant should be orange, not brown. Sounds like rust issues or an improper mix of coolant. No, you do not have to use Jaguar's coolant. Many here use DexCool....

 

I use the green stuff. Just have it flushed. And top off with your choice, just don't mix coolant types.

As Jon said, brown is a suspect color. If it wasn't mixed, check for rust. If it was mixed, you may have a problem. The green stuff reacts with the orange stuff and creates a sort of goo, in a way, that is less viscous than what coolant should be. The result is that it will not swish around the cooling system correctly and it won't be able to dissipate heat as well and could risk overheating the system.

The V8s in these cars are made of aluminum, which, to my knowledge, shouldn't rust. It can oxidate, but it won't rust. I don't know if that also applies to the cooling system.

Jon, I think he means the coolant cap... unless he's looking at the power steering fluid reservoir, which should have red colored ATF fluid. Under certain light it can look a little brown.

Lannyl, are you sure you're looking at the correct fluid reservoir?

 

You are checking Coolant level in the Expansion Tank (item 6) with the engine cold?



(click on the image to enlarge it)

Level should be up to the bottom of the filler neck. There's nothing magical about Jaguar coolant. If you go for an alternative brand, the important thing is that it meets specification WSS M97B44-D for extended life coolant. This spec will be somewhere on the label.

Graham

 

Answers to questions:
When I checked the coolant level in the expansion tank, the color is more brown than orange. This had me thinking the engine had blown a head gasket and I was mixing oil and coolant.....so I checked the engine oil dipstick for a high level.....level was normal. So I started the engine and let it run until I knew the thermostat was open and then checked for foam on the engine oil dipstick....thankfully there was none. Coolant level is well below the filler neck.

So does not appear there is any coolant and oil mixing going on.

Background:
One day last week when wife is leaving for work in the XK8 I always check the garage floor when she backs out. Noticed a very small puddle under the engine, looks like oil, feels like oil...hmmm....this is new.

Check oil level next day, oil level good.

Three days later wife calls on way home from work and says the Coolant Level Low messge just came on the dash. Now I think that perhaps it was not oil I found, but coolant?????...but sure felt like oil.

Checking coolant level next morning, and yes it is low. With engine running I find oil leak from base of oil filter. Tighten oil filter and leak is gone. Check around thermostat housing, all hose connections, remove radiator cover and check radiator....no leak found.


So where did the coolant go?

We bought the '06 XK8 used ("off lease") with 21k miles. I have not touched any part of the cooling system so I have no idea what coolant or mix it has. The various services were performed under Jaguar warrany at our local Jaguar dealership and I am going through the papers to see if this included a coolant flush as I have not had this done.

Depending upon what I find, perhaps it is time for a complete flush and a switch to the green coolant. I perform all work on my Corvette which uses DexCool and am well aware of its color and problems. I do not have any experience with the color of Jaguar coolant; I do not know if it is the same color as GM DexCool or Ford Orange Coolant.

I have looked (thank you forum responders) and GM DexCool and Ford Orange coolant both meet the WSS-M97B44-D specification...both of which are much less expensive than the $77 a gal price for Jaguar coolant I was quoted by local Jaguar dealership.

 

If it meets the spec, then it will be fine. Personally, I use Prestone DexCool from the auto parts store.

It should have a bright orange color when new, but does get sort of dull or dirty looking after a few years. I wouldn't describe it as brown exactly, but it's dark inside the expansion tank.

If it looks cruddy and you don't know for sure that it has been flushed in the last few years, that is good maintenance to do.

Not too hard if you want to do it yourself, and there is a write up in the stickie how-to thread. The write up is for an R model, but it is basically the same process.

 

+1

However if you have to keep topping up the fluid level, you have a leak. It is not uncommon to have a leak around the expansion tank and that will drip directly onto the hot bits of the engine. Instant evaporation and thus no puddle.

Changing the coolant is a good idea if it has been at least 2 years or if unknown, but fix the leak first.

 

Completely agree with flushing and checking level on a regular basis. And if I level drops again, then have a leak for sure.

I did put a hand all over under the expansion tank and came up dry....but thanks for the hint...will keep an eye on this area.

Just going to top-off the coolant for now and keep checking the level. If good and no leaks, then I will do the flush and probably switch to green coolant.

Thanks again.

 

Try taking the engine cover off (4 screws) and look at the thermostat housing at front of engine. I too had low coolant warnings and had to replace both the header tank due to a small crack and the thermostat housing due to a crack at the end by temp sensor.

Took that as an opportunity to flush and refill (with Dex-cool) and so far so good!


Good luck

 

I have already moved the engine cover and checked the thermostat housing....actually first place I checked....all was dry.

Topped-off the expansion tank last night....took less than a quart. Will see how it does this upcoming week as the wife drives it daily now.

Thanks once again for all the responses.

 

A couple of years ago I picked up a litre of the orange stuff from the dealer just to have some for the very occasional topping off. Back then it was about $15 a litre and I thought that was nuts. But I recently was buying parts at the dealer and the stuff is now almost $20 a litre. Is there gold dust in this or something?

Doug

 

how much yaguars type x (x400) captivity of fluids