End of the world for the Jaaaag maybe!!

Gibbo

Gibbo

Gibbo

OcUK Staff
Joined
17 Oct 2002
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Hi there

Driving to work this morning, I came to a rather quiet NSL stretch so gave the car a boot full in 3rd gear, reach 5500rpm and felt the engine had a slight change in tone, so put it into 5th and coasted.

All I could see steam! :(

As I slowed down said steam was clearly coming from the under the car, bonnet area, no doubt coolant onto hot manifolds.

Drove the car very gently, no loss in power or change in driving, well sub 2500rpm anyway and turned heaters to maximum to try and keep engine cool. As I came to a stop engine temperature guage moved to maximum and massive on dash lit saying engine max temperature reached, reducing power. I stopped turned off and left fans blowing.

Couple minutes afterwards, lifted bonnet, no steam now but clear something had let go as coolant spray under the bonnet and the resovoir though still full had zero pressure.

Inspected oil, looked fine and looks like no contamination in oil or coolant.

So I am hoping the engine/head survived and its just a hose failure or water pump failed and I can get them changed and coolant flushed.

After the temperature guage went back to nominal, I started the car, seemed to run fine, no smoke etc. but the guage after 1 minute of running was nudging up slowly past nominal so I turned the car off.

Do you think with the engine stone cold she will manage a 2 mile drive as I suspect there is no coolant flowing around the engine and if it is it shall soon empty.

Its a 3.0 S-Type, so quite a big engine, otherwise I can just let a random garage I have no experience off look at the car, but I'd rather get it to the Jaguar specialist in all honesty.
 
You'll struggle to get 2 miles I'd have thought - half a mile to a mile absolute maximum I'd say, even then you're risking cooking it. If you have no breakdown on the car get yourself a friend and a fixed bar? I'd risk that for a couple of miles

The 996 towing a jag would be quite an interesting sight.
 
[TW]Fox;23407152 said:
I can't believe you carried on driving for a bit :(
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Dual carriage-way with no layby.

The guage hit max as I was pulling off to park up. With fans on full power it had cooled back down within a couple of minutes.

I am hoping its survived without cooking anything. Shall see if I can get it towed, otherwise I am driving it.


P.S. Got free recovery with my bank, RAC be here in 40 minutes. :)
 
2 miles of straight running i.e. not stop-start traffic will be fine imo, I doubt it'll even have reached operating temperature in that distance.

I drove my 328i from Middlewich to Kidsgrove - very much longer! :o - with similar symptoms (and an engine notorious for warping heads), stopped at Sandbach services for it to cool & carried on home.....it was fine.

Carry some spare coolant, don't boot it etc.

You sound like me, keep meaning to get breakdown cover but never get round to it! :D
 
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I dunno, I've driven a VR6 just over half a mile with no coolant pumping through and it was already getting up to temp - encountering any sort of traffic on the way would be the biggest problem.

A £20 bar and 10 minutes of someone elses time will take the main risk of damage away
 
Feel your pain! Bad luck :(

I blew the top rad hose on my prelude once because was unable to stop. Was about 2 miles from the junction on the m4 and the hard shoulder was closed for repairs. It went to hot and I had to limp it off the motorway and the hose blew on the roundabout as I got off the motorway. Fried the engine totally :(

Hopefully you get off better than I did!
 
10 to 1 it's just a hose that has failed due to the Anti Freeze. Yes it will be Ok to drive two miles Especially in this weather. Fill it up with water when you set off though & keep rolling along trying not to stop.
 
I managed to do about 8 or 9 miles, 4 on the M1 with the expansion bottle cap off, boiled off every last drop of coolant, a few litres of diluted blackcurrant squash in it got me to a petrol station to drain said blackurrant and fill with anti-freeze. It managed the 220 mile journey and is still going with no issues another 2k miles later. Had both the coolant and oil lights flashing at me while on the motorway too.

EDIT: Had checked fluids prior to leaving and left the cap at the top of the engine bay, was still there when I stopped.
 
R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
2 miles of straight running i.e. not stop-start traffic will be fine imo, I doubt it'll even have reached operating temperature in that distance.
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Where did he say he had just started the car when it broke? I doubt there would be steam for a start....
EDIT: Ah i see Gibbo is intending to drive it.

I like the idea that the fans being on would cool the engine any better than your 50mph drive.... thats assuming that there was actually still water in the radiator or heater matrix.
 
Hi there

Its getting recovered.
RAC came out, the radiator has let go. Car started and ran fine, topped up the coolant, gave it some revs and could see it pouring out the bottom of the radiator.

After 5 mins it got upto normal temp, so pretty quick, so shut it down and shall wait for recovery truck, probably could drive it, but recovery is free. :)

Suspect it will cost circa £400 to do as the radiators seems rather expensive on Jaguar S-Types, £243+VAT form Jaguar, or £213+VAT with trade discount.

If anyone can help with sourcing a radiator for an 1999 S-Type (W357 WGO) be appreciated, as be nice to keep cost of repair sub £300. :)
 
Jonnycoupe said:
Where did he say he had just started the car when it broke? I doubt there would be steam for a start....
EDIT: Ah i see Gibbo is intending to drive it.

I like the idea that the fans being on would cool the engine any better than your 50mph drive.... thats assuming that there was actually still water in the radiator or heater matrix.
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Hi m8

Matrix still had water in it, as I stopped it had just more or less emptied hence in the last 1-2 mins it went from normal temp, to maximum, but engine off, fans running, engine temp was back to normal within couple of mins and the engine bay was not hot at all, quite cool.

Car starts and runs fine, no smoke, no oil/water contanimation and RAC bloke reckons it is fine, so hopefully new radiator, coolant flush and she is good as new for another year. :)
 
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