Silicon Rubber Hoses

[Blackdog]

Does anyone have experience of fitting silicon rubber hoses to a V12? Had the embarrassment of blowing a hose after overtaking a queue of traffic the other weekend and I really don't want that happen again.

[dhdove]

Marc

Received wisdom years ago was that silicone hoses could be unreliable and were more trouble than they were worth, so fit approved OEM items, which, to be fair last for years and years from fitting as new items. Remember there will be some cars that are STILL running on some original hoses
I have never had a replacement OEM hose fail (tho I'm sure someone will will jump in to say they have!).

But then, maybe technology has moved on in the meantime?

TonyS

[ptjs1]

Marc,

I think the concern was that if a silicon hose does fail, it can very possibly split right along its length which dumps all of the coolant immediately. That's not something that you want to happen on a V12!

Just a personal view, but a change to a good quality OEM set would be a better proposition. However, I'm sure there are others who will swear by silicon hoses.

Paul

[XjRestorations]

Hi Marc,

I would whole heartedly agree with the responses so far.
with many years in the trade - we avoid silicone hoses as they are too unreliable. Good quality cotton reinforced hose sets are readily available and are not very expensive either. Worth replacing with these as it is not a job you want to be doing often - and a V12 is not something you want overheating!

Kind regards,
Keith

[Blackdog]

Thanks for all your advice, I'll stick with the OEM parts.

[BigCatXJS]

Given the consensus that cotton reinforced hoses are the way to go, would anyone have a link to a recommended kit? I have seen this one http://www.angclassiccarparts.co.uk/hom ... ar-xjs-v12 but would prefer to buy one that has been recommended. Mine is a 1989 5.3 V12.

Thanks, Rich

[oldtimer]

I have only owned my V12 for 40years and replaced the hoses once many many years ago.

These of course were Original Equipment Hoses from a Jaguar Dealer

Oldtimer

[BigCatXJS]

Thanks OldTimer. Being lazy I wanted a kit, but it would not take too long to order up the individual hoses. Seems quite an expensive way of doing it on the Jaguar Classic parts site, but I note that a really good quality silicone kit from Rob Beere is over £300 so .....

Ta, Rich

[Brakebuster]

this is my experience, and not necessarily my recommendation

but eleven years ago i bought and installed the then popular ' kevlar ' reinforced kit that was around, and though not so popular these days i can say i have had no issues with the cooling pipes in the past eleven years, they are still supple and not ' blown' , there are some small linear ' cracks ' along the length on some of the small pipes on the crossover tube connections, but show no sign of failing ,

i will be carrying out a coolant refurb on the engine bank link pipes this winter, and will carry out a closer inspection of the pipework, but it would be a good time to replace as the system is drained and partially stripped, makes sense while in there...... and the kit is only a few hundred pounds, which compared to the annual increase in value is a small price to pay of increased confidence and added longevity in the system


just my thoughts

BB

[davidr]

One area worth checking is the tube going into the expansion tank in the wing. There is a metal reduction adaptor in the middle of it that corrodes and ventually blocks allowing pressure to build up. This can lead to very high pressures in the cooling system and possibly blown hoses.
I do have experience of this! My V12 blew a top hose a few years ago!
This may have been the reason for the OP's problem?