new radiator needed!!!!

[hammie]

Hi all,
car is up at Bob Bates at the moment and just had a call to say my radiator needs replacing, apparantly it is falling apart with corrosion as we speak!!, anyway, jaguar wanted £236.50 plus vat for one, found a company doing oem rads, at £146 delivered, although they have checked this against my chassis no, and told me this is the correct one, being one without a built in oil cooler, can anyone confirm that this is the case and my 10/2002 my 3.0 auto does not have a built in oil cooler?? also is it a fairly straight forward job to change it, also turns out my wheel bearing does not need replacing, just the track rod end!!!, fortunately i can return the bearing to neville, that will teach me for jumping the gun, although it was picked up for its last mot with excessive play in the bearing, maybe a mistake by the tester?? as bob says its fine and just the track rod end, hey ho,
anyway, heres hoping bob doesnt find anything else
cheers for now hammie

[J44EAG]

If the car is a manual, Hammie, the chances are that it will not have an oil cooler. Perhaps Bob can check and advise. In built rad oil coolers are most likely to be found on auto models and are usually more expensive to buy because of the extra component built into the bottom tank section.

Aftermarket rads generally appear on eBay for around £130 plus carriage, so the figure you have been quoted is probably not far off the mark.

As regards fitting, I wouldn`t imagine that would be too difficult. Nuts and bolts job to remove. Hose clips are likely to be the squeeze type.

It is unusual to find a rad falling to bits on an S-type. This is the first instance I`ve heard of this occurring. One obviously doesn`t know the history of possible mistreatment the car may have been subjected to ie lack of proper strength antifreeze which may have lead to excessive corrosion or perhaps whether your rad might have be part of a batch made from poor quality material.

I`ve made the mistake of buying un needed parts before now. In the case of the wheel bearing, I would hang on to it now that you have it. Sooner or later you are bound to need it and prices are always on the increase for these units. The going rate is generally around £180. Having got a decent price from Neville, I`d be tempted to keep it in stock.

These cars do take some keeping up together. One has to look very carefully when buying especially as the car motors towards a mellow mid life crisis. What confuses most of us is that whilst the body and interior wear well and look good for many years, the mechanical and electrical modules do not last so well.

My drama for the day - battery died completely today having failed partially last week. No ability to hold a charge. My V8 won`t unlock now, apart from the boot using the key. At least I car get to the battery. A hot maintenance tip here. Lubricate the lock and use the key regularly to avoid seizure. Failure to keep the lock lubricated will mean that with all battery power gone, you are completely locked out of the car! The only way around it would be to power the car up by putting jump leads onto the engine block and starter positive terminal. That means having to jack and axle stand the car to gain access. Just what you need on a sub zero day.

Tomorrow is another day and it will be off to Halfords again with my trade card. In the meantime Curry Night at Wetherspoons beckons and seems a far better idea than having to find my way to Gosport and back to collect a battery. Good job I don`t need the car for a few days. The joys of Jaguar ownership which are probably no worse than any other make. Winter finds the weak spots.

Mike

[hammie]

we have confirmed it has an oil cooler, so more phoning around tommorrow, or maybe a good 2nd hand one?, it looks like the reason for its poor condition is it has obvioulsy had a front end bump at some stage, when i bought it i could tell it had had a new front bumper and rh light unit, but could not see any obvious damage under bonnet, i think it was hidden by the undertray, and bob confirms that this is the reason for the poor condition of the rad, part of somthing underneath is broken and damaged
well it was pretty cheap, so i can take the hit, the rad company i was dealing with today cannot suppy a rad for mine, so the £146 is now n/a, i will update tommorrow, and prob tackle the job myself once i have sourced a rad, when i spoke with bob later on this afternoon, nothing else untoward has been found under the car, so thats a relief anyway with regards to balljoints and bushes etc
cheers for now H

[J44EAG]

Take a look on eBay, Hammie. There are new ones listed there.

Suggest you again talk to Neville. If any one can he can. Most often new gear but occasionally second hand if he is breaking one..

Second hand can be a good option if purchased from a reputable source. Eurojag come to mind.

Mike

[hammie]

Found a company doing new ones, £168 delivered with a 2 yr warranty on it, or just jags doing them for £181 plus post, neville only has 2nd hand, ill prob get new as it will give piece of mind, most on ebay and alot of companys, only list for the manual non oil cooler versions which are coming in around £130-140 delivered [new]
watch this space cheers H, oh any good for a write up or has it already been covered?? bob suggested taking pix so i can connect everything back properly lol

[J44EAG]

Not been covered yet, Hammie. Go to it my friend!

As many pics as you can please of process required to swap out the rad.

If you need any help, just shout.

Many thanks,

Mike