Water pouring out!!! Oh no!!
Discussion
So got the boot open on my Dad's XJ this evening, fitted the battery and decided to take it a run. No chance! Got it out the garage and onto the drive and noticed water pouring out from the front of the engine. I couldn't be bothered having a good look tonight as never had a torch to hand, but I can only assume there hasn't enough anti-freeze in it and something has frozen and burst!!! Has anyone experienced anything similar, what would be the weak point on this car, a 3.2, if any! Or could it be anything?? I fear the worst!! 
Hedders said:
Should we assume you have checked that the radiator cap is in place?
Is there a cap actually on the radiator? To be honest, I never checked anything tonight! I just couldn't be bothered! I was just curious if anyone could have said for sure, "yeah it's common for this hose or that hose to go first". ??I'll be having a good look in the morning though.
The thermostat housing and filler neck is on the front of the engine and is made of plastic on the V8s. These were very delicate and fragile to start with and become brittle with age, there's a chance the coolant might have frozen and fractured it.
Be sure you don't run the engine anymore until you are certain the leak is cured and the cooling system is fully topped up with the correct 50:50 mixture of coolant and clean water - there's two types for the V8, an earlier version which is red (IIRC) in colour and the other later, long life version which is a bright greeny / orange. Either can be used but must not be mixed with the other one.
If you're not sure what you have in the system then a full, pipes off flush, back flush and repeated drain down with lots of water from a hose is a must. When you're putting it all back together I'd change the spring clips on all the hoses to proper worm drive Jubilee clips too.
A safe way to ensure the system is fully refilled is to park the car on a slope with the back higher then the front - this raises the header tank even higher above the level of the engine and clears any airlocks quickly. Start filling slowly through the filler neck until no more will go in then cap it off and carry on through the header tank. Squeeze all the pipes and make sure they all have coolant, not air in. When you're sure there is no air trapped and the header tank is full start the engine with the heater on Hi and monitor the coolant level in the tank for 5 min or so. Top up if the level drops then fit the cap. While you're waiting and watching, monitor the output from the heater, feel all the pipes to make sure they are getting warm. There should be a sudden burst of heat through the top hose and into the rad when the thermostat opens. Watch the temp gauge like a hawk. If all's well then run for a little longer, let it cool right down and check the level again.
It's worth checking the Coolant Low error message apears on the spedo before you start filling - sometimes the contacts on the sensor in the bottom of the header tank corrode and disable the warning circuit. Just unplug and reconnect usually cleans them and gets the warning circuit working again.
Be sure you don't run the engine anymore until you are certain the leak is cured and the cooling system is fully topped up with the correct 50:50 mixture of coolant and clean water - there's two types for the V8, an earlier version which is red (IIRC) in colour and the other later, long life version which is a bright greeny / orange. Either can be used but must not be mixed with the other one.
If you're not sure what you have in the system then a full, pipes off flush, back flush and repeated drain down with lots of water from a hose is a must. When you're putting it all back together I'd change the spring clips on all the hoses to proper worm drive Jubilee clips too.
A safe way to ensure the system is fully refilled is to park the car on a slope with the back higher then the front - this raises the header tank even higher above the level of the engine and clears any airlocks quickly. Start filling slowly through the filler neck until no more will go in then cap it off and carry on through the header tank. Squeeze all the pipes and make sure they all have coolant, not air in. When you're sure there is no air trapped and the header tank is full start the engine with the heater on Hi and monitor the coolant level in the tank for 5 min or so. Top up if the level drops then fit the cap. While you're waiting and watching, monitor the output from the heater, feel all the pipes to make sure they are getting warm. There should be a sudden burst of heat through the top hose and into the rad when the thermostat opens. Watch the temp gauge like a hawk. If all's well then run for a little longer, let it cool right down and check the level again.
It's worth checking the Coolant Low error message apears on the spedo before you start filling - sometimes the contacts on the sensor in the bottom of the header tank corrode and disable the warning circuit. Just unplug and reconnect usually cleans them and gets the warning circuit working again.
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