Answers please v6

Hi, i have owned a v6 petrol now for over a year, every 2 weeks or so i have to top up the water , ive never sussed a leak to date but in the winter months when extremely cold i do notice a slight yellowish gunk on the oil filler cap, winter only. Whats my problem?. Also its an auto box, if i use kickdown it sort of hits a neatral gear and i have to ease off to let traction resume. Answers to my queries would be great, thanks. Tony.

Coolant leak in the middle of the engine v where the thermostat is? Water pump? Heater matrix (only used in winter?) Auto cooler also has coolant in it

Can you describe the auto fault more? Does it not change down quick enough during kick down?


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thermostat pipes in engine v


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Water pump location behind smooth cog


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If yer got red oats coolant it's florescent. This will help you look for leaks.
Would the yellowist gunk point to head gasket failure?

Hippo thanks for the reply jud.Regarding the kick down, if for example im travelling at 50 60 etc and i need to overtake with oncoming traffic i punch the accelerator and it will cog down then just as that gear is racing the engine tone seems ready to go up a gear, but theres no power just a high revving engine, quite a long flat spot with a high revved engine, by this time im level with the adjacent car with one oncoming, therefore i need to shut off then tuck in back behind the car in front, by this time the gear , speed and engine tone seems to be back to where i started off. This just happens on kickdown only, if im at the lights i can floor it and beat most things. Hope this makes some sorta sense matey. Thanks Tony.

Hi,
I'm certainly no mechanic but I used to own an S type Jag and last winter I had a problem where I was suddenly faced with a gush of coolant and a stall. I feared the worst and after pulling to the side of the road I pulled the bonnet whilst waiting for a RAC. After removing the oil filler cap I noticed a yellowy cream and was convinced that I'd be up for a new head gasket. Incidentally I too had been topping up every two weeks or so...

Anyway to cut a long story short a Jag independent thoroughly inspected the car and told me that the head gasket was fine and that in cold weather, the yellow cream can form - especially if doing short trips and is nothing to be overly concerned about. They changed the expansion tank because apparently they can develop small cracks which aren't noticeable until the engine is running and under load. Then these cracks let coolant out.

I'd suggest running it for a while then switching off and with a glove on your hand, run your hand along all of the coolant pipes that are accessible, paying particular attention to any joints and regularly inspecting the glove for any dampness - it may just be that you find that you have a leak somewhere.

As for the yellowish gunk I'd suggest cleaning the oil filler cap, popping it back on and then going for quick spin along the motorway. When you get back - check the cap and the coolant level again. If there's no recurrence - I wouldn't be too worrried about the head gasket until proven that I should.

Andy.

please advise, I bought a v6 freelander recently. it hasn't moved since i drove it on and off a traier to get it home, [no tax]. I'm doing the timing belts and noticed coolant in the V. [it tastes sweet]
absolutely s***ting it, is this the headgasket or something easier?

gordybiker, the thermostat is in a plastic housing, in the vee, that isn't up to the job so is a case of when will it leak not if it will leak. easy change but worth doing the 2 pipes that are hidden in there as well. have a search around the mg zs/zt forums (same kv6 engine) as there was a company making these thermostat housings in alloy for not much more than the plastic ones.

wazzer - if you're doing shortish stop start journeys during the winter you will find a bit of white gunge/mayo on the cap due to condensastion, take it for a drive 'like you stole it' and you'll find it will have disappeared, if it hasn't, start to worry....

oh yeah, worth changing the temp sensor while you're in there as well fore the sake of a tenner...

wazzerincowshed said:

Hippo thanks for the reply jud.Regarding the kick down, if for example im travelling at 50 60 etc and i need to overtake with oncoming traffic i punch the accelerator and it will cog down then just as that gear is racing the engine tone seems ready to go up a gear, but theres no power just a high revving engine, quite a long flat spot with a high revved engine, by this time im level with the adjacent car with one oncoming, therefore i need to shut off then tuck in back behind the car in front, by this time the gear , speed and engine tone seems to be back to where i started off. This just happens on kickdown only, if im at the lights i can floor it and beat most things. Hope this makes some sorta sense matey. Thanks Tony.

Click to expand...

Ok. To split this into tests... Drive up to 60mph in auto mode. When the revs are steady in 5th gear, move the gearstick to the right and it will select sport mode, as displayed on the dash. Then pull the lever back once which will ask the auto to change to 4th gear and it will then run in manual gear shift mode, called command shift. Does it change gear to 4th ok when doing this? Now put it back in auto mode by pushing the lever to the left and continue driving. It should change back to 5th gear now. Does it?