Hi all,
Now that I have the Green Shower taken cae of and out of the way, I found a few more oil drips on the Garage floor. This time in the front. Could be engine or power steering - can't tell which.
Before I jack it up and crawl under there, I am looking for input on possible causes. The drops are hanging on the front bushing of the a-frame/wishbone on the passenger side.
What is up there?? Leak is somewhere below the air filter. Fix from above or below????
Any input is much appreciated!

 

On the face of it, check the power steering plumbing. It has to go around the radiator to that spiky cooler all the way upfront. There are "proper" lines as replacement parts, and also more hack repair methods to fix these types of leaks. Leaks typically develop on the hose/aluminum interface over time.

 

Thanks for your input. Removed the air filter and I think I found the leak See photo. Looks like the hose is fine and, if I understand some of the other Power Steering posts correctly, has the newer, better hose fittings. There is oil on the aluminum pipe below. Makes me suspect the O-ring??? Is that a possibility??

I am not familiar with that type of fitting. How does it separate??? Any special requirements for the O-ring??? If it is not the o-ring, what else could it be???

 

This is crimped-on, one time setup. The outer collar goes into a dye, the rubber hose is inserted onto the inner barbed pipe, then a hydraulic press crimps the outer collar at the time of manufacture. There is no o-ring here. Either, the entire pipe/hose has to be replaced (pricey but factory solution), or a home-made fix has to be done. There are posts of some of those home fixes. It boils down to pipe/hose plumbing.

 

The manual calls for Dexron III for the power steering. All I know it that Dexron III is red in color. The oil drips on the floor were clear, so I checked the reservoir and it is also clear oil. Prior to me buying the car a week ago, the car was serviced annually by the local Jaguar dealer. So, why the heck would the oil be clear instead of red??? Is there any other special oil used??

Action works, so I called the dealer half way thru this post. They informed me that over time and with the heat, the color will change to a more "goldy' color. Has anyone out there experienced this??? Or was that just a way for them to recommend that I bring it in for a full flush. Maybe if it is that old, it should be flushed anyway.

 

FWIW, some power steering systems are supposed to be filled with mineral oil, not transmission fluid (Audi, VW). Mineral oil is more clear, sometimes with light coloring. Call the dealer service department (outside of busy drop off and pickup times) and talk to the service manager. They can probably quickly go over the service history and tell you more. On the face of it, you have the wrong fluid in there, probably one of the Pentosin variants. You probably need to go back to the fluid that is specified. To be sure, check if somehow there is a sticker or some indication on the reservoir cap that something was replaced.

 

Again, thanks for all your input. It is tough to only be a one week Jaguar owner and already on your second oil leak.
I will do the quick and easy fix for now and replace with a full factory hose later. I already have a mini pipe cutter and the hose, clamps and brass splice fitting is readily available.
Once apart it is easy to also do a system flush with new Dexron III. I guess that if the current oil is 15 years old, it is possible that color has changed over time

 

The oil may turn dark with age/contaminants but I doubt the color is lost. But I believe the ZFHP24 fluid was not red and perhaps the HP26 also, so not all transmission fluids are red and no harm done. But I would do a flush to be certain.

 

Thanks! Will do a flush for sure. Who knows how old the oil is and it is an easy thing to do.

 

the hose fitting does come apart, where the rubber hose slips on to the aluminum tube. There are two green o-rings in there, Might be able to get them out with a small dental pick.
Have read a few posts, where people have replaced o-rings, but still have problems with leaks. The question then is why did new o-rings not work. Proper dimensions?? There are at least a gazillion different o-rings.
Hard to measure down there, but I believe it is a 10 mm pipe and with the "hose clamp" modification, 3/8 probably works fine. However, replacing o-rings is a different story. Where/how can I find the proper dimensions for the o-rings and what material is right for Dextron III and possibly high heat?? Viton??
Looking for input!!

 

You probably have to do some form of cleanup (brake cleaner?) and check after a bit to determine where the leak is coming from. These crimped connections fail over time (see oil cooler hoses) and might drip over the lower section with the o-rings. For a quick fix, Harbor Freight has o-ring kits that are pretty inexpensive. Altogether, these quick fit connections are great for Jaguar at the time of manufacture, but maybe the calculus is different on a home repair.

 

I was quite relieved when Wayne (cjd777) and I cut that lousy connector out of the power steering fluid hose beside the alternator and did the well-known brass hose barb fix last February on my wife's 2006 XK8. I guarantee you that the brass hose barb fix is ten times better than installing a new hose with the same bound-to-fail plastic connector in it....

 

Just for the heck of it I did get some new Viton O-rings to try. It is virtually impossible to see inside that 3/8" hole to replace the O-rings and I bet the chances to damage the rings are pretty high. Anyway, it is all back together now and I will try it and check for leaks.
To be on the safe side, I also picked up all the parts for the barbed splice and hose clamps solution.
By the way, Dexron 4 okay in place of Dexron 3 ??? Can they be mixed??

 

Yes, Dexron 3 and Dexron 4 are compatible....

 

So, the O-rings are in! Only driven a few miles, but after several hours the garage floor is still clean. More time is needed to verify as a valid repair......
It can all be done from above. There are four tabs that hold the Aluminum and Rubber hose together - see picture. Bend out one at the time and rotate the fitting to reach the next one.
Once separated I tied the hose facing up to another pipe in the area - could have been A/C. Then, using a dental pick, I fished out the old O-rings. Carefully measured and came to the conclusion that they were size #110. Called around and found a place that had size #110 Viton rings - Viton can handle just about anything.
Getting the new ones in was the worst part. Mostly because the new rings were black and so was the fitting. Hard to see and work in a 3/8 hole. The original rings were green and I would recommend any color that is contrasting the black fitting. I carefully cleaned everything to be able to spot any leak. Also made sure that the four locking tabs were pushed back in.
Slipped it together, filled oil and fired up. Had to top up a few times and then went for a spin.
So far everything looks good. If oil on the floor tomorrow morning, then we go for the hose clamp and barb splice option.

 

So, the O-ring installation failed and I had to go the hose clamp route. Instead of the barbed brass fitting I picked up an off the shelf power steering return line at Napa for $20:-. 3/8 rubber hose at one end and 3/8 steel pipe at the other. Fit nicely and even looks pretty good.

Now on to new adventures.......

 

Part # please.

 

Napa part number: 7-2680. Cut steel pipe with hacksaw just short of the bend leaving about 2" straight pipe for hose clamp. Rubber hose is plenty long to cut to fit. I used two hose clamps at each end.
A modified Mini Pipe Cutter will fit to rotate around the steel return line down by the alternator. Pipe cutter leavers a clean cut with no metal chips/filings. It's a little bit of work since the pipe is steel - not AL or CU - but is cuts.