Lower radiator hose again

I’m not sure I even have a real question here but maybe I do . What lube does everyone use on their radiator hose? (There’s one) . I dont know if I’m getting old and decrepit or just fighting this ugly nasty SOB job but it’s been nailing me at every twist in the road. I think those engineers at Jaguar were sadists if you want my honest opinion. Both ends of the hose were welded on , I swear. I have more arm scrapes than I can shake a stick at. I finally got off the factory emersion heater yesterday and got the lower radiator end on this morning . I had a go at the water pump end but hard to align. Hose not very pliable but I’ve read soaking in hot water and some dishwashing soap as lube. More of a vent I guess , but its my birthday today


and thought I would walk away. This crap show has been going on for a week , I can’t believe it.

Happy birthday. I have used a little penetrating oil to help remove old o

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Thanks Jim, it’s just a funny day , i feel I’m getting older and one year left for retirement . I have to admit, will I still be enthused about crawling under a 4000Ib car to do some of the maintenance and under carriage work when I’m 70 years old. I don’t think I could do it.
Just trying to look ahead after this past adventure not sure how long i can stay in the game .

To answer the question, I use rubber grease, thats what its made for.

Is there a brand name. There’s a plumbers grease called duck butter , is the the stuff? Or else your back to all the other suggestions, like Armoral and dish washing liquid. I even see WD 40 but as a petroleum product does it not degenerate rubber?

Just trying to look ahead after this past adventure not sure how long i can stay in the game .

Probably as long as you get pleasure from the overall experience of owning your XJS. Must admit I don’t get much pleasure from the act if maintaining. But get satisfaction when it turns okay. And pleasure from driving it.

I see there are a number of red rubber grease that come up on Goggle.

Thanks Jim, I’m just on a rant from a tough week and now in my 60’s . Probably covid , getting near to retirement and where everything is going. Will be fine tomorrow with a new outlook and have another go at that hose.

Take your pick;

I usually squirt a bit of wd40 on the hose. I’ve sometimes even spit on them.

Chances are you probably won’t enthusiastic about crawling around under the car doing much of anything when you’re 70 yrs old, but that’s why you need to do everything that needs to be done now. Forget about a decade from now, by the time you are a year into retirement, the only the only thing that you should be doing underneath that is either changing the oil, cleaning debris from between the radiator, or changing the coolant. Providing the car gets fully sorted out, there is no reason that your XJS should serve you well for as long as you want it to.

I’ve just been in the garage on another mission but checked the grease. It’s Bosch RG4 in a tube

Thank you I’ll scope it out. Would be nice if these hoses were more flexible to get a better alignment on them.

I dunno; I am almost 67- in the past month I have resealed the differential cover on my MGB V8, removed both doors on the XJ-S to paint the jambs and door inner shells. Wheeled out the roof and deck/boot lid. I also switched the EEPROM chip to a different fuel map on the MGB. Oh, and reset the toe on the same car.
Yes I hurt for a day or two sometimes, but I still get satisfaction from it. Next Saturday I am switching radiators on the XJ-S…
Don’t give up, keep moving!

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Thanks Robert, for the words of encouragement. Im. Not ready to throw in the towel yet. Been a rough week but as an earlier poster said get all the heavy lifting under the car work done sooner than later as I probably won’t be as enthused when Im 70 years old. Who knows how stiff and sore backs will be like , let alone any major heath issues
Hopefully by then just driving with a smile on my face.

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I am 76 with some health issues. The criteria I use for when to stop working underneath cars is simple. If, after laying down under a vehicle you cannot get back up, it might be time to stop.( smile )

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Yes I remember when you mentioned health issues Bernard when you sold your XJ-S.
I find (as I get older) crawling under cars , small spaces, wearing masks make me claustrophobic. Under cars, smells of coolant , gas oil whatever makes me feel nauseous and dizzy on top of everything else.

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Happy Birthday!

Jags can be utterly infuriating to work on. I’ve to adopt a real attitude that it will take as long as it will take. I removed my lower rad hose a few weeks ago, but as I stuck a knife in it and used it as a drain my method won’t work for you.

As for lube, I would never use anything with a hydrocarbon like a penetrating oil on a rubber hose. I am sure Gates and co make them somewhat resistant but I assume they are mostly EPDM and that compound does not like oils. If I am lubricating epdm I usually just use, I swear, KY jelly - it is mostly glycerin suspended in a methyl cellulose so it is pretty inert and compatible with EPDM.

Guaranteed not to damage rubber, is it not?

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One would certainly hope so.

I’m 76… Do not have a hoist… do absolutely nothing under the car… A little above… You are probably right as one gets older it will get harder to do some things.