Hi Everyone,
I just had a few thousand dollars worth of work done on my XKR Silverstone with 6,700 miles on it. I have a few questions.
When should you change your Supercharger Oil?
When do you change your coolant?
What about trans fluid? Mercedes unit..
Also when to replace the thermostat?
Thanks,
Mike

 

Unless you have documentation on all the above being serviced recently they all need attention.

When should you change your Supercharger Oil? Don't know, no SC.

When do you change your coolant? Even the best long term coolant has only five year corrosion protection.

What about trans fluid? Mercedes unit. Miles only count so far. With that many years it simply wouldn't hurt to change it.

Also when to replace the thermostat? Absolutely, positively change the thermostat. Corrosion will kill it and then the engine.

 

Every 2 years on brake fluid.

50.000 miles on thermostats/housings and rad. fluid.

Automatic Transmission flush at 50,000 miles.

Drop pan and replace filter, sleeve and fluid at 100,000 miles. (this last one is my personal rule)

 

A car this age with such low miles is a special case as you probably know. The standard schedule does not fit. All that sitting is hard on some things, especially the cooling and brake system. I would replace all fluids in everything, and I mean even the power steering. Just condensation could trash fluids that would seem perfectly normal in a car with 10,000 miles a year on it. The brakes could have fluid that should have been replaced three times by now! If you have Brembo brakes, you could have some $500 each aluminum alloy caliper paperweights.

 

My XKR has 73K miles on it. During the rotor and break pad change, I asked the mechanic to replace the break fluid. He said that it's "absurd" to change the break fluid, explaining that the break fluid does not degrade and that I should not change it as in ever. This guy is not a dealer mechanic (obviously). Is he correct (Dealer suggests changing it frequently, perhaps to make $$$?) or should I get the break fluid changed? And are we talking about flushing the fluid completely or just replacing whatever we are able to pump out of the reservoir?

 

I would have gotten my car and left right then and there because he isn't a mechanic but a moron. Brake fluid absorbs water. Water boils at quite a low temp compared to temps that brakes see so if you use your brakes hard and your "fluid" which will be water if you do not change it is boiling you will have no brakes. In reality, you will be giving the moron who told you not to change fluid more money for brakes over the lifetime of a car as your system will rot from the inside out. All fluid in your system should be replaced every 2 years regardless of miles driven. Oh and find a new shop!

 

Is it a matter of simply pumping out the existing fluid and replacing with new fluid or does the process require special equipment (perhaps a pressure pump?) Sorry if the question sounds naive, but I am not a handy bloke when it comes to fixing cars - I just enjoy driving them

 

You flush brake fluid using any method you are comfortable with. The old fluid will have a cloudy/yellow color. Just watch for it to turn clear (indicating new fluid in the circuit) as you pump it out.

I use a vacuum flush kit but that's because it allows me to do the job without help. The 2 man system with 1 man pumping the brake (with the engine at idle) and 1 man collecting the fluid is probably the best overall.

Be sure to keep adding new fluid to the reservoir because if you run that reservoir dry, air enters the system and then you have added a lot of extra work to get it out.

 

The Jaguar calipers have an unique design in that the bleed valves are not at the absolute top of the of the caliper reservoirs when mounted on the horizontally raised car.

You have to remove the caliper bolts and turn them slightly to allow all the air to escape.

 

Brake fluid is so agroscopic, it can absorb water right through the rubber brake lines! Since it is essentially antifreeze in concentrated form, it loves water. Don't think that your brakes don't have water molecules in them. If you have Brembos, you are more vulnerable since the calipers are aluminum and will corrode inside and be ruined but quick. One thing that helps them is that XKRs with Brembos have stainless reinforced brake lines and they are somewhat less absorbant. I use a pressure bleeder which saves time and does a better job. The tool is about $50 from Motive Products. You just fill it, pump it to 15 psi, connect it to the reservoir, and open the bleeders one at a time until the fluid is changed. With Brembos, which each have two bleeders, it is a must if you want to get done. It makes changing the fluid so easy, it gets done more often. Every time I change the fluid, I use a different color so I know when the new is coming through. ATE makes a super blue and a super gold.





[QUOTE=DevSpider;773631]My XKR has 73K miles on it. During the rotor and break pad change, I asked the mechanic to replace the break fluid. He said that it's "absurd" to change the break fluid, explaining that the break fluid does not degrade and that I should not change it as in ever.

 

It's hygroscopic which means to absorb water from the air...

 

couldnt have said it better, learned that when i was 13 working on a dune buggy and learning how to wrench. Ah the days when electronics was lights, starter, ignition and a am radio