Coolant leak (not into engine thou)

[Ant88]

Hi, I have a 98 freelander 1.8. Its had the HG sorted couple of years ago but I still have to keep topping it up. Its not going into the engine, as the oil and all seems fine. The main thing is I can smell the antifreeze after a run. so this suggests leaking externly. I changed the pipes which come out of the heater matrix this has helped even stopped the freebie from juddering as it was leaking above the gearbox  :) Is there any other major points to look for like maybe the waterpump or even the heater matrix? Oh and its just done over 70k. Any suggestion would be helpful. Replacing the rear diff mounts tomorrow so thought I would check and see if I can fix this prob as well. Ant

[dazzawhipple]

Have a look underneath ie the cambelt area it may be the water pump weeping or the inlet manifold gasket

or add coolant die to it it will them stain the area of a leak if any .....or its venting out of the coolant cap maybe change the cap only a £5

Darren

[Ant88]

Thanks Darren, i will check this out, I might indeed add the die, as its driving me crazy to keep checking the level, and the smell of the anti freeze is not the nicest! On another point thou I changed the diff mounts! so glad I did, as the front one was totally shot! you can pull the inner part out :shock:

Ant

[JC]

Hi, I have had the same problem, dazzawhipple has got a good point there is a pillar bolt through the water pump housing that provides bolt hole for the cambelt cover if this is loose it can allow coolant to leak, you will notice it dripping out of the bottom of the cambelt cover,(could also be water pump of course). Also one to check is the passenger footwell... the heater matrix's are known to go, see my profile /misc pictures if you fancy replacing it !!!!!
Have you checked the header tank filler cap ?

[Ant88]

Thanks for the info. I will check these out when i get a chance. The cap seems to be fine although there is some crazing on the top of the header tank just where it goes onto the thread. Hope it's not the heater matrix, dont fancy doing that job in a hurry :) Will let you know what i find out! Ant

[petergalileo]

I have had this too, 1999 1.8 with 77K on the clock.  I had the head replaced last May and since then it lost water and occasionally I would find a damp patch on the road.  After a lot of investigations it turned out it was the coolant cap, apparently it wasn't changed when the head was replaced and even though it appeared to work as it should occasionally it would depressurise the system and let water out.

[Ant88]

Thanks, I reckon I will give the cap a go as its just plane confussing!! See if this fixes it first and then as mentioned by dazzawhipple, will change the water pump. Still cant see any visable areas where its coming from thou. Ant

[Ant88]

Well after some hunting, changing the cap, it is indeed the heater matrix that is leaking. Was not noticable in the well untill the blower pipes where removed! So JC if you have some helpful tips, its going to be a dash pullout for me    Ant

[Doobreydog]

Try Kseal...worked for me available most decent motorist shops or online

[Ant88]

Cheers for the tip, might give this a go, Will hopefully put off pulling the dash out :)  Ant

[danno]

Agree with the K -seal, tried the head gasket, then the water pump, then the expansion tank and cap, inlet manifold etc etc. eventually gave up and stuck K seal in and ran ok for a year.