Coolant leak

[S6 Devil]

I took the car for a run and parked with one side on a curb. I went to collect something and on returning noticed coolant leaking from the back of the engine. It is dripping on both sides. It seems to be on one side, from below where the coolant filler cap is and on the other below the brake fluid filler cap.

No warning light/ message came up and the temp remained constant for the 40 mile round trip. The coolant level has dropped though...obviously!

Any thoughts?

[buzzsaw]

Could be the dreaded valley pipe leak(hose that runs under the supercharger). Lets hope not. Just had it done on my str...not cheap as supercharger has to come off.

[S6 Devil]

buzzsaw said:

Could be the dreaded valley pipe leak(hose that runs under the supercharger). Lets hope not. Just had it done on my str...not cheap as supercharger has to come off.

Can you let me know the cost of this?

[buzzsaw]

I had other things done at the same time but would guess at 650. I used an independent with very good labor rates.

[S6 Devil]

buzzsaw said:

I had other things done at the same time but would guess at 650. I used an independent with very good labor rates.

I think I'll call the AA and see if I can use my parts and bills cover!

[NormanD]

Could be the frost from the air con melting

[S6 Devil]

NormanD said:

Could be the frost from the air con melting

There does seem to be a fair amount coming out. I've checked the coolant reservoir and it has dropped. I think it may well be the valley pipes.

[S6 Devil]

Just spoken to my local Jag specialist who tell me they can change the valley pipes without taking the supercharger off. Price £150 all in, seems cheap!

[P700DEE]

No need to remove it all but it does need several bits removed. Had mine done by a Jaguar technician , after hours for £150 inc parts etc.

[NormanD]

S6 Devil said:

Just spoken to my local Jag specialist who tell me they can change the valley pipes without taking the supercharger off.

Price £150 all in, seems cheap!

Still sounds like 2Hours plus work plus parts and VAT

[XKRacer]

Does depend which valley pipe, if you have both done the supercharger has to come out, there is no way on earth you will get to the one that is attached to the block except by taking the S/C out.

I have done it many times when I have fitted silicone hoses

[NormanD]

XKRacer said:

Does depend which valley pipe, if you have both done the supercharger has to come out, there is no way on earth you will get to the one that is attached to the block except by taking the S/C out.

I have done it many times when I have fitted silicone hoses

Seems a bit short sighted then to do only the one

OK save a £100 extra labour but as they would be the same age I'm sure the other will go in the near future

[Med1c]

Hi Devil.

We are in the middle of replacing the dreaded leak from the Valley Pipe on our S Type R.

The Pipe is located under the supercharger.

I notice that you have a different Jaguar but thought this information may be of some help.

If anyone can assist me in posting images up here then I can show you the pictures from start to near completion to give you a clearer picture of what actually happens in order to fix the problem.

For reference :

There is one pipe in the S type R situated under the supercharger which caused the leak in our vehicle.
We have decided to replace this with a custom built pipe as we feel the official Jaguar pipe was not of high enough quality and the labour time to reach the pipe can mount up should the problem arise again.

I don't know if you can reach the pipe in your Jag without removing the supercharger but in the S Type R it is impossible to fix the problem without the removal of the Supercharger.

Let me know how to post images up and I can show you in detail the process.

Hope this helps ?

[Med1c]

S6 Devil said:

Can you let me know the cost of this?

Just sent you email S6.

[S6 Devil]

Med1c said:

Hi Devil.

We are in the middle of replacing the dreaded leak from the Valley Pipe on our S Type R.

The Pipe is located under the supercharger.

I notice that you have a different Jaguar but thought this information may be of some help.

If anyone can assist me in posting images up here then I can show you the pictures from start to near completion to give you a clearer picture of what actually happens in order to fix the problem.

For reference :

There is one pipe in the S type R situated under the supercharger which caused the leak in our vehicle.
We have decided to replace this with a custom built pipe as we feel the official Jaguar pipe was not of high enough quality and the labour time to reach the pipe can mount up should the problem arise again.

I don't know if you can reach the pipe in your Jag without removing the supercharger but in the S Type R it is impossible to fix the problem without the removal of the Supercharger.

Let me know how to post images up and I can show you in detail the process.

Hope this helps ?

Hi,

To upload images, just look above the box when you reply to a post. It says upload an image (beta). Click that and start uploading!

[Med1c]

Hi S6

Thanks for the info - I never noticed that before !

I have to go out for a couple of hours but will post images around 1pm today for you.

Cheers !

[Med1c]

Med1c said:

Hi S6

Thanks for the info - I never noticed that before !

I have to go out for a couple of hours but will post images around 1pm today for you.

Cheers !

Engine with SC removed to access Valley Pipe.



Second picture of engine with the supercharger removed to show clearer image of the 'Valley'

The Valley pipe sits in this section under a sound insulator pad - This pad was difficult to source from the main dealers as it had no part number and several dealers could not locate it.



Sound Insulator Pad.

The Pipe had a very small hole which did not leak until car was at operating temperature.



Valley Pipe.

We are replacing this with a custom motorsport pipe.

Here is the hole that caused all the problems !



A small hole the size of a ball point tip at the top of the pipe just under the metal clamp.

We were loosing 5 litres of water at operating temp every 5 miles !



Supercharger which we will be rebuilding.



Hope this info helps out guys ?

More pic's to follow.......

[S6 Devil]

Thanks Pete, that is really useful. Strangely the car didn't leak today although it did yesterday. I will take it for a run tomorrow to operating temp again and see what's what.

[Med1c]

Glad to help S6 :-)

There is a possibility that the 'Valley' Pipe may not be the problem.

Note : We initially carried out a pressure test and noticed the water pouring out above the gearbox casing and falling onto the ground around the front passenger wheel area.

Any garage should be able to do this test and you should be able to get it carried out free of charge.
Any problems with this test, message me and I can get my guys to do it for you free of charge.
We had quotes of £65 + vat to do this from other garages ! Don't let them charge you.

Another thought would be the a leaking coolant bottle - Check this for cracks.

Also the Water Pump or Thermostat may be leaking so get this looked at initially.

I'm not sure there would be anything else that would be the problem but I may be wrong.

We noticed that just before the car went into the Garage the leaking actually stopped for 3 days.
We since found out that due to the size of the hole there may have been some build up around this area which actually blocked the hole and stopped the leak.

Also we lost the warm heating as expected with the leak.

I will post more pic's next week when we start the next stage of the work but any questions please email / message me and I will do my best to help out.

Cheers :-)

[Med1c]

buzzsaw said:

I had other things done at the same time but would guess at 650. I used an independent with very good labor rates.

I agree.