Coolant loss

[muddyjames]

I seem to be forever topping my coolant up.

After about 300 miles I have to put about a litre or 2 back into the resvior.  :twisted:  

I had issues towing a twin axle van last week up hills where the disco temp kept getting very close to being in the red and also the water was boiling big style.

I flushed the system through with a hose yesterday by taking off the plugs above the thermostat and also the top of the rad and the resevior bottle and bung the hose in. The water was very brown for some reason.

There is no bubbling in the water when it is running except for when the thermostat kicks in which I guess is just the water suddenly going through the system and then it stops after a few seconds to a swirling motion. When I 1st bought the car there was a slight oily residue on top of the water but that has all stopped now.

I have put 2 litres of anti freeze in as I dont think it had much in the other day. I know it needs 6 litres in to get the recomended 50/50 solution like the hand book says but at £5 a litre for anti freeze they can run and jump. Also I cant work out where to drain the whole system so I cant get any more anti freeze in before it gets to the top of the max thing inside the bottle.

Any ideas where the water is going? I do have an oil seel leek which is coming out of the wading plug. could it be leeking through that as well? I very much doubt it but worth asking.

Also when I took the waing plug out of the auto box hole I had a few drips of water come out but I guess that is just condensation. It was literaly only a few drips.

[Tyke]

'P' gasket at back of accessory bracket is the usual culprit.

[muddyjames]

I shall have to question my little landy mechanic man when I next see him. Oh he is going to love me when I give him the list of jobs to do. Im looking at 1k's worth of work  :shock:

[Tyke]

If it's the p-gasket, I did mine for £1:28p plus a couple of hours messing about with the spanners. Make sure they fit the latest metal one and not an older paper one or will go again.

The leak is that fine that pressurising the cooling system did not show any leak and I was told by a local garage mechanic that it would probably be a new head gasket job.

You can usually see where it's been leaking if you poke about at the front of the block just above the alternator where the joint face is for the acessory bracket, use a torch to brighten the area up a bit. Mine was rust stained but once found it was very obvious.

If you have other jobs to do that are going to a mechanic i'd get them to check out what I say or you may end up with a new head gasket and still not cure the leak. I went to the local land rover shop prepared to buy all the bits to sort the head and that's when the mechanic pointed out that this was most likely the problem and nothing to do with the head gasket.

He was right and that saved me a lot of money and messing about.

[muddyjames]

the guy i take my disco too is fantastic. £25an hour labour, he saves you money where he can (will give example in a mo) and also phones up every evening to give an update on how work is going.

I bought my disco and then 200 miles later I found the alternator pulley had come loose and put the engine timing out a bit.

It went on a low loader to him and he did the whole work for me for £700. that was take old pulley of, re do timing, re build the crank shaft (he said if that didnt work he has a 2nd hand spare or I could buy a new one for £800  :shock:  If it had gone anywhere else I am sure that it would have been a 2k bill and a new crank shaft etc etc and certainly not the same kind of service my chap provides.

He has even offered to get the train down to me and pick my disco up for him to do the work as long as I pay his train fare. He wont charge me for the time it takes him to pick it up. He lives an hour and a half from me. Soon it will be 10min as I have bought a house VERY close to him :D

[K9Jim]

i've just done my P gasket, exactly the same scenario. my garage pressure checked it and told me there was nothing wrong, but and it is a but i kept topping up with coolant, the stronger it is when it leaks it crystalises ( forgive the spelling).
my leak showed behind the alternator and in front of the engine block, low and behold the P gasket.
it took me a couple of hours to strip it all off, clean and rebuild and i have no mechanical skills what so ever, i really couldn't justify paying a garage a couple of hundred quid for a £1.30 part  :shock:
whilst i was there i replaced my knackered radiator and water pump and hoses and gave the intercooler a good soak in parafin, do you know how hard that is to get hold of  :shock:
and what a difference it makes, no leaks, loads to torque and grunt and a free revving engine, well happy and i got two days tinkering with the beasty  :D  :D
if i can offer any help just give me a shout

[muddyjames]

whilst i was there i replaced my knackered radiator and water pump and hoses and gave the intercooler a good soak in parafin, do you know how hard that is to get hold of  :shock:
and what a difference it makes, no leaks, loads to torque and grunt and a free revving engine, well happy and i got two days tinkering with the beasty  :D  :D
if i can offer any help just give me a shout

Now the bold/underlined bit sounds fab. I am sure mine needs a damn good clean as it really struggles up hills with a trailer on the back I know 300tdis are bad but I am getting to the point of [!Expletive Deleted!] off with the auto box changing at the wrong time and revving its guts out to get to the top. I maybe too used to my rover 620 that pulls my current van up hills at 60mph in 4th no probs. even birdlip hill near gloucester I go up that at 60mph in 2nd gear and over take HGV's doing 3mph!!

I am in minus figures for my IQ of mechanics. I give it all a go then bodge it up and get help from a mate!!! I couldnt even do the water stat. I took out the oil one  :oops:  :shock:  :lol:

[K9Jim]

dude i'm right with you on the mechanical skills, but there was a cracking piece in LRO a while back with a step by step guide to replacing the gasket - it even had pictures  :roll:  :lol:
i even laminated it for ease of use , if you want to pm your address and i'll sent it too you, provided i get it back  :lol:  its worth a look and might save you a few hundred quid !
offers there if you need it mate,

[muddyjames]

thanks for the offer of the info. I have somewhere loads of LRO mags so I shall see if I can find them and find the article. The haynes confusion guide isnt very good and I have a cd with the workshop manual in but it is on cd!!! I can print them off but I forget I have the cd until I am half way through and all oily or got [!Expletive Deleted!] off and given up :lol:

[Tyke]

I am in minus figures for my IQ of mechanics

LOL - probably best you have a good and freindly mechanic then.

Most little jobs just require the correct tools and a bit of confidence and no doubt, like the rest of us, you find plenty of those little jobs that need doing on the Discovery.

As for the 300TDi being low powered, I'm not quite agreeing on that. With the right 'tweaks' you'de be supprised what they will do  

[muddyjames]

I have heard about the "tweaks" but as standard they are under powered!!!

I am trying to get high mpg at the mo instead of power. It is working out to be 18p a mile  :shock:  My rover 620i L reg with 215k on the clock 2litre 16v injection returned 11p a mile on the last tank of metnol. Bleedin fab when the price of petrol is so high these days. even when towing my caravan I get 13-14p a mile in the rover. Disco I darent work it out. too painful. Well it was £53for 300 miles. Do the sums yourselves :lol:

[floyd fan]

Be aware, I thought I had a problem with my cooling system but it turned out it was the head gasket gone and pressurising the system. Found out to late and now its going to cost £2000 for a new engine.

[muddyjames]

ouch. if the head gasket has gone will water leek into the engine as well then? I never knew that. I always thought it was oil into the water. dont want a new engine :(. I have beeen down the slippery rebuild road before. not fun! :(

[Skibum346]

James,

Depends where the gasket is split. there are oil & water channels up and down through block & head.

Get the coolant tested by a mechanic with a testing fluid. Exhaust fumes in the coolant (bit technical!) indicates probable gasket failure.

Good luck

Frank

[Tyke]

Who's opening the book on what it turns out to be then . . . . my brass is on the p-gasket, based on the description of the problem given.  :lol:


If it was the head, there would most likely be other symptoms, oily water, emulsified oils, funny 'chuffing' noises, sudden loss of power, sudden loss of coolant, steam from exhaust . . . . . none of those is there James?


Your mpg sounds about right anyway for an auto, £53/300miles whats that working out to at say £4.95 per gal . . .  about 28mpg. Mine is less than that even on a good day. Gotta live with it mate, it was made by Land Rover, never been known for being thrifty in the fuel department.


Doubt anything much you do will improve on economy on the auto, you can only make it worse, or make it perform better, depends how you view it. Can't have it both ways I'm afraid. As for being underpowered as standard, how many thousands of them have spent their lives pulling vans and horses, without a moments trouble or complaint from the owner.


Just mind you don't boil it untill you get it fixed, I topped mine on a daily basis for several months untill it was diagnosed and sorted. Still never go anywhere without at least 5ltr of water in the back. If you boil it the head will be most likely be shot . . . . then you'll need more than just gaskets.

[Skibum346]

If James' luck is anything like mine... my money goes on a head gasket!

James,

Lookatit this way... my luck is so bad I won't be able to win the money so yer head gasket will be fine.... :twisted:

Twisted logic there somewhere!   :o

Skibum

[Tyke]

Aye mate . . . I also know all about the luck thing . . . if it can happen, it will  :lol:

Hope it's not the head though James, just keep your fingers crossed old Tyke was right