i have a 02 xkr wreaked in front --is fixed now but im worried about the intercooler cooling system ---tryed to burp and boil the air out but cant feel water flow on driver side inter cooler hoses i,ve read h20 boys thread ---was easy for him-----talked to a jag mech at nally in atlanta ---he said to get a vacum pump ----i just don,t feel tha water is properly flowing in the 2 top intercoolers ----thanks in advance

 

Mark,
What makes you think the coolant isn't flowing through the I/C? If the I/C aux. coolant pump is working the top of the I/C's won't be very hot. After driving the car for extended period of time I can put my hand on top of the I/C's and they're only warm not hot.

 

If you squeeze the tubes carefully, you should feel if there is some flow. If not, you might have an airlock, and that is bad, you could damage the pump.

 

yes i think i have an airlock ---feel flow on passenger side but not drivers ---yes gets very hot ---if i drive 1-2 miles it pings when i shut it of ---engine is cooling fine ---i think --guage goes center then stays ---just need to get the air out of the s/c system i think-----also you said bad for the pump?

 

No flow would be caused by an airlock at the pump and running dry isn’t healthy for the pump. As it is a closed system, you either have flow on both lines or not at all.

 

Have you followed the JTIS instructions
Remove the supercharger coolant fill plug.Remove and discard the sealing washer.Place a suitable cloth around supercharger fill port.Jaguar recommends filling the cooling system with softened water.Top up the coolant through the supercharger fill port. Coolant may spill from supercharger fill port when ignition switched on.Switch ignition on. Do not allow the supercharger water pump to run dry for more than one minute. Failure to follow this instruction may result in damage to the vehicle.Allow the supercharger water pump to run and top up the coolant through supercharger fill port.Switch the ignition off.
(supercharger fill plug is the big hex key one in the middle of the intercoolers.

 

That part doesn't sound right. Soft water is full of sodium, which I wouldn't think you would want in the cooling system any more than the calcium it replaced in the "hard" water.

I have always heard that distilled or reverse osmosis water is a better choice and intuitively that makes sense as it is a more pure water, with fewer disolved salts of any kind.

Or there are the pre-mixed antifreeze solutions.

 

Straight copy from the JTIS.
There's no reason to have sodium in soft water, it just means the calcium content is low.
We're on granite here so have extremely soft water - but I promise there's no sodium in it on analysis. Be very worried if there was!
As you say, though, you can't go wrong with distilled water.

 

I believe that it's a strait copy and it could be that my interpretation of what "soft water" means is shaped by experience.

Where I come from the only way to get soft water is to run it through a water softener, which generally works by exchanging ions and the resulting output has a good deal of sodium in it.

But enough with the chemistry lesson, back to cars...

 

Never done this job before. Is it just JTIS or can you reuse the washer a couple of times. Is it essential to replace it?

 

I used mine again so it can be done. I did periodically check for drips over the next few weeks just in case. There were none.

Torquing it to the proper spec is going to be the most important thing.

There is a good procedure in the FAQ (Radiator flush & fill) that covers this and more. Including how to make the tool you will need to get the plug out.

 

I have removed and replaced the Plug several times and re-used the original washer without any leaks.

To remove the Plug, I use a 3/4" nut and place several washers under it so half of it is in the Plug and half exposed above the Plug. Then I use a 3/4" Socket to loosen it.

 

Thank you, I have read that (and saved it for future reference).