After having the car serviced and having the fluid topped of the coolant light comes on in my 1998 Vanden Plas. I have had the car to the Jaguar Dealership three times and they are unable to resolve the problem. They have checked all wiring and sensor and now they believe it is a leak from the Radiator into the cyclinder head. If so, this should be causing a discoloration of the oil fromt he anti-freeze, but that is not occurring. Does anyone know what could possibly be causing the problem. Also the Dealership states it will cost $5,000 to replace the Cyclinder head gaskets to repair the coolant light problem and they keep saying the car is over heating, but I never see the temperature gauge go beyond half......Any help???
Also at the same time I drow the car for 800 miles for Michigan to South Carolina and had no steering problems, now since taking it to the Jagaur dealership the steering is getting tighter and the dealership states it will cost $2,000 to repair the steering.
I dont know if I can solve your problem but it sounds like air is trapped in your cooling system. The part where you lost your heat is an indicator of trapped air or a bad thermostat. Since your thermostat was replaced, I would try to purge the air from the system. I have no Jaguar experience but cooling is cooling. My 2000 buick has the same problem. I replaced the coolant level sensor and still the "low coolant level light" comes on at startup and stays on the whole time the car is running. I recently replaced the water pump and after that everything was fine. Added 50/50 dexcool to top up the system. Coolant level light started coming on during the winter. Checked coolant many many times. Alway full. The electronic troubleshooting check for the sensor is to unnplug the sensor and if the light goes out the sensor is bad. However my sensor is $55 worth of brand new. Not that a brand new part cant be bad, but its highly unlikely. Also two more things, check for a soft radiator hose or heater hose. They collapse sometimes under draw from the water pump,and the water pump may be sucking air through its gasket surface due to improper torque on its bolts, or a crumpled or misaligned gasket as it was being installed. (if it has one)
I recently (one week ago) had the same problem; the coolant low light kept coming on. There were no visible problems other than the light. Mine too did not overheat. I took it into the Jaguar dealership and was told that there was a leak in the thermostat housing. I took it to another reputable mechanic and was told the very same thing. The thermostat housing and hoses were replaced and no more light. Problem solved!
Hi
If you are having a low coolant warning light coming on, you either have a faulty sensor, or the coolant is escaping somewhere.
To diagnose the source of the loss of the coolant there are 2 procedures that must be carried out as follows......
1. The cooling system must be topped up, and pressure tested to max running pressure 15lb sq in.
If there is an external leak this will show it up, possibly from cooling or heater hose, water pump, radiator, or the heater matrix.
If nothing is apparent an internal leak, must be then suspected, ie head/s or head/s gaket/s.
2. To test out this , a carbon monoxide test should be carried out on the cooling system, by passing, a sample of the cooling system gas, when engine is at normal running temperature ,through the test fluid in the vacuum tester.
If the fluid changes color, this is proof the combustion chamber gases are escaping into the cooling system, which over pressurizes the system and normally blows the coolant out of the header tank overflow, as you drive along, and you do not see.
The other symptom of this problem, is the coolant leaks back into the combustion chambers, when the engine is switched off, and when you start later, a misfire is noticeable until the spark plug dries out.
This is quite a common problem, if the engine has ever been overheated at some time.
Have you had the vehicle from new, and can you confirm this is not the case ?
As For the steering problem..........
Seems V/strange you now have this problem appearing, after just visiting the Dealer ?
You firstly must check, if it is due to a loss of P/S fluid, by checking the level, and putting a sheet of cardboard under the car, this will pinpoint the area of the leak ( Red Fluid)
If no leaks are apparent possibly the pump or the steering rack are at fault.?
Without actually seeing the car, and from your short description of the problem, I possibly suspect the problem could lie, in the water pump department, which if leaking when you are driving, allows coolant to drip onto the power steering belt, and give you loss of drive to the pump, and therefore stiff steering.
Have the pressure test carried out and this will eliminate this source of the problem, then go to stage 2.
Give me feed back on what you think !
Good Luck !
A FixYa rating is all that I ask for, and would be appreciated... Thank you !
John.
2
Inspect
Hose (Bypass)
Ruptured, cracked or leaking bypass hose.
3
Inspect
Hose (Heater)
Ruptured, cracked or leaking heater hose.
4
Inspect
Radiator Cap
Worn or damaged radiator cap
5
Inspect
Heater Core
Heater core may be leaking antifreeze/coolant into the vehicle`s floor area.
6
Inspect
Heater Control Valve
Leaking or defective heater control valve.
7
Inspect
Radiator Drain Plug
Loose, damaged, or faulty radiator drain plug.
8
Inspect
Radiator
Rusted, corroded, or damaged radiator may be leaking antifreeze/coolant
9
Inspect
Water Pump
Damaged, worn or leaking water pump.
10
Inspect
Cooling System Mix
Coolant level low or flow is restricted.
11
Inspect
Head Gasket - Performance
Blown head gasket
12
Inspect
Hood Brace
Leaking, worn, or damaged intake manifold gasket
13
Inspect
Freeze Plug
Freeze plugs are cracked or leaking.
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John, you information is very helpful. I don't know that much about cars, other than working in a auto manufacture. Your second suggestion is what the Dealership is reqeusting to do. Do the test and if affirmative they want to replace all of the head gasket at a cost of $3,000 which includes the cost of 21 hours of labor which is about $2,500 and the parts are around $500.
The car was purchase while on a trip to Michigan to see my dauther from Ebay. The car was originally from Las Vegas and had been in storage. I found out since send the first note the car had been serviced several times here in Michigan at another Jaguar Dealership and they completely tested the Coolant system, replaced the thermostat and some gasket on the radiator. When the car was taken into the Jag Dealership in North Carolina it looks like they have done the same thing. In both cases the coolant system was flushed and the thermostat was replaced by both Dealership. The dealership in NC replaced even though there were only 6,000 put on the car which was all summer driving. One additional question I have is: "Shouldn't the light stay, once it has come on due to low coolant or am I missing the process of how it operates? The Light only comes on at certain times normally after running the car for a while and does not come on all the time. I drove the car over 800 miles from Michigan to SC and the car did not register over heating and the light didn't come on until I hit SC, but the heat in the car would go off for a while and then come back on.....
I also appreciate your comments on the Power Steering. I don't believe it is a direct leak because my wife has not seen an liquid on the concrete floor at our home in SC. She states the steering is stiffing up and becomes harder for her to turn. The car has 61,000 miles and is in excellent condition. I never thought of the water pump issue but have advised my wife to have the steering fluid checked, which I would have thought the Dealership would have done in NC. I will be flying there on Thursday to take a look at the car myself and take the new information I have obtained from the seller about how much work had been done on the car previously.
I really do appeciate your comments and looking foward to hearing from you if I have provided any useful information. Once again Thanks.
John, a little more information as of this morning on the Steering problem on my 1998 Vanden Plas. I had a friend of mine check the S/F and he states is full. Also he drove the car and says the car drives extremely well, but when turning corners the car or steering acts a little tight. He thought it might be lower air pressure in the tires, but check and confirm the tire pressure is okay. One thing that happened at the dealership when the car was first serviced was that when I drove the car from Michigan new tires was added by the owner and he advised me to have the wheels aligned in NC. In NC they did the wheel alignment and all tires were filled with Nitrogen instead of air. My wife added the driving of the car was rough for a while, but I assume that was from the rotation of the tires and the wheels being aligned. I will have the water pump check upon my arrival in SC to see if that is an issue. Also they replaced a right wheel breaking which surprised me because it I didn't seem to have a problem with the car when I drove it 800 miles from Michigan to SC. They only problem I had was the car vibrate between 60 and 70 and I thought that was due to the new tires and not being aligned. If this information helps on the Steering I am very thank, if you can assist.
Also can you give me sorta an estimate of how long a thermostat should last because the NC Jaguar Dealership change it even though it has been changed in Michigan and car had been driven less than 6,000 miles and less than one year and most if not all of the driving was during the summer months, When stored the car was driving only on the weekends in the winter becuase the Jaguar does not handle well in snow and the owner did not want salt on the car.
Sorry to ask but one more question: How will I know the Dealership will be honest on the Carbon Monoxide test of the Cyclinder head and the discoloration of the oil. We are talking $3,000 for repairs if this is the issue and with the economy the way it is how can a customer judge honesty in this case when there are limited Jaguar Dealership. Because in most cases Dealership's won't allow customers in the working area.
Sorry again,,,,,,,,may I ask a stupid question, being the coolant light doesn't stay on all the time and seems to come on at random and in a lot of the cases the coolant fluid is not low,,,,,,could be possible that their is a short in the coolant light or a fuse is malfunctioning. The dealership has never commented on this issue and two Jaguar dealership have not been able to resolve the problem at a cost of Over $3,300 between both locations....seems strange to me.....you would have thought they would have run the tests you are recommending right away..???? Once again thanks
John, can I add one more item on the coolant light. According the NC dealership they tested the sensor and states it is okay. They replaced on wire running to the sensor and according to my wife, "she states it looks like another wire has been taped going to sensor". Just thought you would like to know.
John, sorry I hit the return key too fast: Additional information on the coolant system and power steering problem for my 1998 Jag Vanden Plas
Coolant System:
1.) Step on as you recommend was completed by the Jag dealership in NC. They pressure tested the coolant system and there were no leaks in the coolant system and it was above 15 lb per sq. inch.
2.) I asked them why they did not do the Carbon Monoxide test and the service manager stated that he felt it wasn't warranted, becuase each time he checked the coolant system when the light came on was the coolant was full up, so instead they kept the car on three different occassions changing wiring and driving the car after each change to see if the coolant light would come on. After not being able to find the problem he now is advising that a Carbon Monoxide test be completed. Seems very strange to me if the Coolant is full up then it wouldn't be leaking. So why do the test now. Any recommendation based on this information.
2.) Power Steering Issue: As is advised you earlier I had my friend check both the fluid and test drive the car and he advised the fluid was full and the car's steering is rough on corners. I talked with the service manager about this and he stated that he had driven the car and it drives perfectly wonderful in the straight but is stiff when turning corners. He first mention that the Power Assist needs to be changed or checked and I asked what this was and he said electronic and then changed his statement to Rack'n'Pin could be going. The quote on replacing this was $2,000 that he quoted my wife.
As I have said before it is really strange that two Jaguar Dealership have looked at the same coolant problem over a period of one year and neither has been able to resolve the issue. Both flushed the coolant syste, pressured tested the system and replaced the thermostat. Along with several days of checking wiring in NC without any results. As far as I know the car has never over heated and it surely did not over heat on me when I drove if from Michigan to NC, becuase the heat indicator on the dashboard never move of the half mark. So could we simply be talking a short in the light or fuse and they are missing it and from what I can see so far both dealerships have found problems they think related to the coolant system or other items they said were wrong that has added up to $3,300 trying to resolve this issue. Also, I thought all dealership was suppose to return any parts that are removed from your vehicle that they say is bad and was replaced. In the case of the NC dealership, no parts were returned to my wife, including the thermostat that was changed again after only 6,000 additional miles added to car when it was changed in January, 2008 in Michingan. As stated the car was driven only during the summer time and not winter (other than every two weeks or so just to get the car out of storage and sometimes the car was started in storage just to run the motor) This Jag handles horrible in snow, because I tried it and it would be almost impossbile to use in Michigan during the winter. I hope I have not overoaded you with information, but I thought this would be useful. Once again thanks a million, becuase I really smell something fishy.............real fishy...
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