dragon 23

I had a fluid flush a month or so ago. The resevoir hose (from just beneath the cap to the plastic bottle) was left off, so lost a bit of fluid there. The resevoir is below "add" now. Bear in mind I live in Cali and drive a lot of hilss, so the engine gets hot, but NEVER over 210/215 or in the red. Is this normal loss, say just under an inch in over a month, some of which was down to the hose? or should i be worried? no leaks i can see, just hoping no one going to say "cracked head mate!"

and also, when adding more coolant, i use a 50/50 mix with water right?

HCCAFan

50/50 with distilled water or just buy the pre mixed ****.

Fill it and monitor it. Sounds like it's hard to say how much you should have.

ck1

really shouldnt be any loss at all...as mentioned fill it to the middle of the bottle (between hot and cold marks) and keep an eye on it..
Cameron

trans_am7935

radiator fluid is supposed to be the same level it is filled to, even when you change it 50,000 miles later. if you have a loss in fluid ever then there is a problem and it needs to be fixed. but as stated before, the easiest way to fill your system, is flush it, get some concentrated radiator fluid (1 gallon) and then fill the other 1.5 gallons with distilled water.

dragon 23

checked again when engine was hot, and a resevoir a lot fuller. still topped it up with a bit of coolant/water. will keep checking and see.

bigvig

Yeah, like trans_am said, you should NEVER lose coolant. There is an issue if you lose coolant.

HCCAFan

Could be as simple as old coolant that is boiling or coolant that the ratio is not quite right on though.

djb383

If the tube between the neck of the rad and the bottle was missing, coolant was lost when the engine heated up and air was sucked in when the engine cooled. Always remove the rad cap, ENGINE COLD, to check/add coolant and always maintain coolant in the bottle.

The rad cap is a 2 way valve, must be functioning correctly and the tube between the rad cap must be leak free.

dragon 23

that was an issue. that tube was not connected by the guy that did the fluid flush. only found out when it found its way in to the cooling fan... so fluid lost then. took it to a dealership today and met a proper old school mechanic. he gave it the once over, said no problem there, did a little water top up and said "what a nice XJ you got". so i rest easy and learnt a bit more about how it works. give me a year or 3 and i may even be able to help someone out on this forum!

djb383

XJs luv to have their hoods opened and fluids-n-stuff checked at least once a week.

tjwalker

I'm with you on that djb383!

It takes all of about 3 minutes to pop the hood, check coolant level, check oil, and don't forget about checking transmission fluid and brake fluid once in a while too, so they don't feel left out.

A weekly fluid check and knowing exactly where your dash gauges normally run and glancing at them once in a while (they are there for a reason) can go a long, long ways towards finding a problem early and fixing it proactively, rather than getting bit in the *** and having a big repair bill!

djb383

I'll bet there's XJ owner's manuals out there still in the cellophane wrappers. LOL

Macoozie

Just my 2¢ -

That little burping from a weak radiator cap or a dribble from a weak hose going to the bottle can create another problem. The aux fan is right there.

The original Bosch GPB aux fan motor is open on both sides to allow for cooling.

If you get coolant in the motor, an early replacement is in your future. The copper plates and copper mesh leads to the brushes will turn green and then turn into dust.

kemjeep

x2s on djbs and tjs comments plus lubing up the mechanism for the hood release with wd-40 and opening it frequently to check fluids will be a plus its all in the maintainence.

xjthor

Ha, definitely. I had a hood release problem...or should I say closing problem. WD was the fix...works well now.
And yep, always check the fluids on these. Never had a tranny fluid problem, but oil or water problems...all resolved but my eyes always on the oil pressure and engine temp.