TD5 Coolant loss

[freelanderpx54]

My Disco has been in need of regular coolant top ups and as I haven't been able to go and buy some anti-freeze I have been using water. Yes, I know it is very naughty but these things happen. There was a problem with coolant escaping  from the top hose (next to the temp sensor) which I sorted out.

I have replaced the coolant with a 25% antifreeze mix  and there doesn't appear to be any leaks so far. The water pump squeals a bit but it isn't shedding any coolant so the big question is..... How do I tell if the coolant loss is down to the head gasket failing ????????????????

Minor note. When I took the drain plug out there was no copper washer (replaced by me - any brownie points??) and the fluid that was flushed out was very clean (as in clearly see through)

Cheers
John

[mac]

Logged on this morning to ask a similar question, TD5 again, happened twice now, after finding a pool of coolant on the drive it was down about a pint, no sign of oil floating in the header tank or water on the dipstick, performance is fine, accelerates well and touched 90 on the motorway although my normal work journey is B roads at 55-60, kept an eye on the temp gauge since the first event, seems steady at midway. Could it just be a weak pressure cap? a drop of coolant on the drain plug but i think it had come from the tank vent.

Enjoyed the flood driving Fri/Sat - could almost feel the envy from those who normally curse the "gas guzzler"

[Range Rover Blues]

If you have over-filled it it will breath out of the header tank, the cap opens up at about 10PSI or thereabouts anyway.

[freelanderpx54]

It hasn't been overfilled and there are no obvious sign of a leak

[Range Rover Blues]

OK John there are a few things

Firslty if it's leaking then antifreeze will make it worse as it lowers the surface tension of water, so if you replace the antifreeze it may get worse.  I use 50% though in an engine with both ali and iron.

Check the rad, usually the bottom corners where it's hard to see.  A good antifreeze will contain a tell-tell, sometime flouraseen or similar (green) but the red ones are better, look for a coloured crust in the pipe unions, even if they apear dry.

Has the leak started since you fixed the top hose? did it start straight after.

Water pump squeals? antifreeze might stop this but as above if might start the leak.

Try something like K-Seal in it.  I used it to stop a weeping rad on the LSE and so far it looks ok.

[freelanderpx54]

Squeal has died down to a hardly noticable tone. I have pulled the trim from around the radiator and everything is as it should be. Will try the K seal though

Cheers
John

[Bush Tucker Man]

My Disco has been in need of regular coolant top ups and as I haven't been able to go and buy some anti-freeze I have been using water. Yes, I know it is very naughty but these things happen. There was a problem with coolant escaping  from the top hose (next to the temp sensor) which I sorted out.

Co-incidentally mine has developed the same split hose a couple of days ago (if you mean by the sensor on the block)

The hose-clip had sheared on its underside, which I didn't know until I removed it to replace it with a jubilee clip.

[Bush Tucker Man]

My Disco has been in need of regular coolant top ups and as I haven't been able to go and buy some anti-freeze I have been using water. Yes, I know it is very naughty but these things happen. There was a problem with coolant escaping  from the top hose (next to the temp sensor) which I sorted out.

Co-incidentally mine has developed the same split hose a couple of days ago (if you mean by the sensor on the block)

The hose-clip had sheared on its underside, which I didn't know until I removed it to replace it with a jubilee clip.

Thankfully my hose still seems to be water-tight after 4hours+

[freelanderpx54]

The hose wasn't split, the clip holding it on wasn't positioned correctly so it was allowing coolant to get past. There was a lot of solid gunk on the pipe on the block

[Bush Tucker Man]

The hose wasn't split, the clip holding it on wasn't positioned correctly so it was allowing coolant to get past.

Mine was split

There was a lot of solid gunk on the pipe on the block

No mine was okay, apart from the residue left on top of the water-pump (in the air-con mounts)

[mac]

After my reply and question about coolant loss I spoke to Simon at Swindon 4 x 4 he suggested that if head gasket had gone ( not unknown) the header tank will smell of exhaust gas, touch wood that was ok, also said try bleeding at the top hose plastic bleed pont with pressure cap off and engine running did that and am keeping fingers crossed but loss seems to have stopped - seems an airlock can develop and force coolant out but what might cause that?

[RichardRRC]

I had both a radiator leak and a water pump leak on mine (at different times), the early radiators are prone to failure at the bottom corners where the end tanks are crimped on, and the the O ring seals that are used in the water pump housing are very thin. Both times it was not obvious at first where the water was escaping.
Don't be surprised if you can't keep the coolant level up to the cold level line, it seems the normal level is below the cold level be it a TD5 or a V8. If you keep topping it up it mysteriously disappears :shock:  :) Best to let it settle to its lower level then keep an eye on it from there.
I think, from memory, the correct mix is 50/50, water and OAT type coolant.
Richard.

[thermidorthelobster]

Richard's right, some TD5s vent a bit of coolant if you top them up but then settle down and keep the rest.  Have a look at some TD5 header tanks at the next show you go to - I bet more than half look as if they're low on coolant, but the level won't drop any further.

My head gasket is almost certainly shot, but the fluid in the header tank is pristine and there is no emulsified oil.  If you get a lot of white smoke (steam) on startup occasionally then it could be that the water's making its way into the combustion chambers.  I'm 99% sure that's what's happening on mine.  The TD5 doesn't do head gasket failures in the same way that most other engines do.