Incontinent Ftype

[Darren P]

I drove my Ftype today a noticed slight puddle from the drivers side. I thought my windscreen washer bottle was over flowing again but on closer inspection I have a leak somewhere below coolant reservoir. Has any body had this before?

On the plus side it happened when at home. Three weeks ago we got back from a 2300 mls trip to Tuscany.

 

[MajorTom]

Is it coolant? Coolant leaks are very common with these engines.

 

[Darren P]

Almost certain it is and appears to be running from below tank. Not great volumes but a little water goes a long way.

 

[scm]

Have you had your plastic pipes replaced with the revised versions?

 

[Darren P]

Not that I know of. I booked it in for next Tuesday. Based on it being away from block and raidiator it shouldn’t be to costly fingers crossed

 

[MajorTom]

There's loads of different parts of the coolant system that break over time. Parts that I've read about or have experienced breaking myself are the coolant tank, coolant tank cap, small pipes behind the engine close to the firewall, the Y pipe under the supercharger and the water pump. I'd have a dealer or Jag indy analyse it because it will only get worse.

If it's only the tank it ought to be a fairly simple story. It's worse when the bits behind the engine or under the supercharger go because that implies an expensive supercharger off job.

 

[Darren P]

Thanks for replies. I suspect a coolant tank or hose connecting tank. I’ll update when sorted. The joys of having toys.

 

[Anonymous]

Hope you get it sorted. After 5.5 years and 41,000 miles I'm still trouble free.
Do you take it Derby still (or am I thinking of someone else).

 

[Darren P]

Derby not me. 5.5 years problem free is impressive. I am on my 3rd fault in 14 months

 

[Darren P]

Hi I have had a bit more time to look at leak today in day light. Seems to be coming from a valve below the expansion tank that I think maybe control water flow to interior heater battery. It has two pipes that go through bulk head and wires.

 

[Tel]

7 years no issue. with coolant whatsoever.

First off, before going too deep, check the easy and less obvious things first:

Remove and re-seat the coolant cap - Check it is pulling down tight
Remove and reseat the bleed screw, but treat gently
Check the feed and return small bore hoses for abrasion/cracking.

Fill to the MAX level and take the car out for a good drive. when cooled, remove the cap and check the level, has it dropped?
Can you smell Glycol anywhere?

Depending on the above is the juncture at which I would pressure test the system to find a potential leak.
There are weak spots sure, but it's a matter of narrowing down and not missing less costly items first.

 

[RPSN]

7 years no issue. with coolant whatsoever.

Does your car have the original lower and upper coolant outlet pipes or the replacement (modified) ones as shown in this topic?.....
https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=6598

 

[Darren P]

Dropped my car in to Jaguar Maidstone this afternoon. Booked in for tomorrow morning. Got a call an hour later. Fault found, split on bottom of expansion vessel. Should get back early tomorrow. Exceptional service Jaguar Maidstone

 

[Lux37]

Good to hear that it is sorted and that Maidstone Jaguar handled it well.I have used them a couple of times over the years and found them to be fairly good before I moved the XKR to a indie.
Will need to get the F-type serviced next year at a dealer though so will certainly consider going back to them.

 

[Tel]

Dropped my car in to Jaguar Maidstone this afternoon. Booked in for tomorrow morning. Got a call an hour later. Fault found, split on bottom of expansion vessel. Should get back early tomorrow. Exceptional service Jaguar Maidstone

They can be an issue as we've seen on our XFS where the neck to the cap went! Good news.

 

[Tel]

7 years no issue. with coolant whatsoever.

Does your car have the original lower and upper coolant outlet pipes or the replacement (modified) ones as shown in this topic?.....
https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=6598

I have the original 'ridged type'.

 

[RPSN]

7 years no issue. with coolant whatsoever.

Does your car have the original lower and upper coolant outlet pipes or the replacement (modified) ones as shown in this topic?.....
https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=6598

I have the original 'ridged type'.

Good to hear.

The issues that some F-Types are having with the original lower (‘Y’) coolant outlet pipe isn’t as common as it seems..... https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=66849#p66849

 

[Tel]

Does your car have the original lower and upper coolant outlet pipes or the replacement (modified) ones as shown in this topic?.....
https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=6598

I have the original 'ridged type'.

Good to hear.

The issues that some F-Types are having with the original lower (‘Y’) coolant outlet pipe isn’t as common as it seems..... https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=66849#p66849

And since new I've always put a smidgen of deionised water in the tank, which I consider normal.
As I spend far too many hours under it, I'm hoping I'll spot it before any issues occur. She's only got 17k, spirited miles!
One sure way is to smell for glycol when I put the bonnet up - it stinks when evaporated.

With that said, for the 100 quid or so it costs for OEM parts, I might do it and the SC coupler as preventative maintenance, however I'm a firm believer in, "If it aint' broke, don't fix it".

 

[RPSN]

I have the original 'ridged type'.

Good to hear.

The issues that some F-Types are having with the original lower (‘Y’) coolant outlet pipe isn’t as common as it seems..... https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=66849#p66849

And since new I've always put a smidgen of deionised water in the tank, which I consider normal.
As I spend far too many hours under it, I'm hoping I'll spot it before any issues occur. She's only got 17k, spirited miles!
One sure way is to smell for glycol when I put the bonnet up - it stinks when evaporated.

With that said, for the 100 quid or so it costs for OEM parts, I might do it and the SC coupler as preventative maintenance, however I'm a firm believer in, "If it aint' broke, don't fix it".

My car’s on approx 45k at the moment with no coolant issues since I’ve owned it

Yes, if something untoward was happening, hopefully the tell-tale signs will be there e.g. strong smell of coolant, sufficient coolant loss, or as the Jaguar technical bulletin says.... “A customer may express a concern that the ‘engine overheat’ message is displayed on the Instrument Cluster (IC) and that coolant is leaking from engine compartment area.”
https://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=62058#p62058

The "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy isn’t a bad one.

 

[Anonymous]

My biggest worry with the seam welded coolant pipes is that they could fail suddenly, and without warning make the car undrivable, and if your not in a position to immediatly pull over when it happens your going to cook the engine too. Most parts on cars will fail slowly and give you warning something is wrong. The replacement pair of pipes cost £80 and new gaskets £40 new coolant £30 and it took me a full day to take the supercharger off and clean everything up (but I don't work very fast) then half a day to put it all back together. It's not a specialist job really, just basic tools needed. While I had the SC out I replaced the snout couper and SC oil - Another £60
Hardest part was lifting the SC assembly off the engine, those locating dowels were well and truly rusted in place. recommend seeing the thread about waterproofing your engine cover, couple of rocker cover bolts were well rotted and needed replacement.
So really not that costly a job if you don't mind getting dirty, and now peace of mind.