Late Autumn Nights

The nights are closing in and there's a chill in the air, and the guys are working late. Busy fixing Ashley's XJ, which was leaking coolant.

After an inspection, and a rev up of the engine, drips could be seen coming from the radiator hose on the near side. OK then, a new hose is ordered, but on arrival and removal of the old hose, it's clear they are not the same. Phil reckons that the hose they sent is for a left hand drive vehicle. Either way it's the wrong part. You can just see the old hose in the lower left hand area of the picture, rising like a coiled cobra from the floor.

As a temporary measure Phil borrowed a hose from mechanic Brian's XJ, many thanks Brian, and fitted this to Ashley's car. It's in a tight place on the car and it took a wrestle to get it fitted, but once it's on, it doesn't leak. This kept Ashley on the road and we were also then able to MoT the car.

It's a funny thing but I've only ever seen this car before in the twighlight or at night and I was convinced it was green, but as you can see from the picture its actually blue. I'm going to blame the shade of orangy/yellow light emitted by the sodium lamps of UK streetlights for distorting my perception.

#xj #radiatorhose