Transmission leak from missing bolt - Been smashing my head against a wall for months

Hello everyone,

This is my first post but i've been looking around for a while now and this site has been agreat help with my current and previous Land Rovers.

My current problem has been driving me absolutely insane for some time now and I think i've just partly figured it out.

A brief history.

I bought the car from a chap who had himself bought it with a broken engine. He replaced the engine, had the heads reconditioned, new belts seals etc etc, then when he got it all back together there was an auto transmission leak coming from somewhere and he couldn't figure it out or didn't want to bother with it so he sold it cheap to me.

As i've slowly gone over and under the car I've found many bolts missing, and incorrect thread and length bolts forced into the wrong holes, and lots of bolts that have not been tightened. So i'm not placing much faith for the quality of work the previous owner has carried out, which explains what i'm about to get to.

For quite some time (until about 20 mins ago)I thought the leak was coming from the large O-ring on the snout of the IRD that slots into the gearbox. I tried replacing the o-ring with a generic one from an engineering supplies shop with no luck, so I then tried a genuine LR one thinking it must be different but no, still leaking. So I've just removed the IRD for the 17th time and I must had had it or my head resting in the right position or something because for the first time i've noticed a bolt or something missing just above the top IRD bolt holes. You can see in the attached pics it's the hole in the middle area with some oil weeping out.

I would be eternally grateful if anyone can please tell me what's supposed to go in this hole!
It almost looks like a hard line is meant to go in there maybe?

Anyway, here are some pictures of what i'm blathering on about, sorry for the long post.

Kind regards
Ben

While I can't answer your question exactly, I would say that if that hole is threaded then, presumably, it needs a bolt in it. Can't tell from the photo if it is threaded or not.

I had something similar on my Td4... I kept getting oil weeping out and making a proper mess of the IRD and cross member below it. After several cleaning up sessions to see where the oil was coming from, I found a bolt hole by chance on the top of the IRD that was lacking said bolt. It was one of the series of bolts that holds the two halves of the IRD casing together. This one should have been in place with a little heat shield. That was also missing.

Because this leak had got progressively worse I ended up removing the RH driveshaft, tie rod, etc, splitting the IRD casing in-situ, cleaning it all up, applying RTV sealant to the join and putting it back together with ALL the bolts. Job done. No leaks since.

No idea where this bolt had gone. Previous owner incompetence, I guess. Anyway, the moral of the story is that if that hole is threaded, it more than likely needs bolting. Is there a corresponding hole on the IRD?

If the hole you are referring to, is the second one up from the IRD output? Then no, there is nothing that goes into that hole. It contains a staked in ball bearing.

Being a V6, make sure that you fully bleed the cooling system before running the engine. The liners won't tolerate air around them.
I hope this chap did the timing belts correctly. If you have found multiple bolts loose or in incorrect places around the car, I'd be questioning all other work done too.

The leak is likely to be where the IRD nose goes into the box. If the area where the O ring seals is scratched, that will do it.
A thin smear of RTV should do the trick.

Thanks for the responses so far. I think Nodge68 has provided the answer, but it's not one I was anticipating at all.

The leak is definitely not the large o-ring, it's coming from higher up and as soon as you start the engine its like a running tap.

So having said that, yes the engine does run, not that i've had it going for more than a few minutes at most. So everything timing wise seems to be set up but your right, the whole thing is a bit of a worry.

The chap did seem to know what he was talking about when I bought the car. I talked to him for almost an hour about everything he did so I bought the car somewhat confident the work had been carried out properly.

So anyway, on to the leak.
I've circled where the fluid is coming from, so it sounds likes it's the hole with the alleged ball bearing stuffed in there. I'll have to take another look at it in person, but looking at the pics now it kinda does look like there might be a ball in there. If there is I can't see why it would decide to leak.
And if there's not I can't see how the previous owner would have knowingly or unknowingly removed it. I would assume it would have to be punched out once the gear box was disassembled.

Very strange...


PS, I will definitely look into what I need to do to bleed the cooling system, thanks for the warning.

Bit of an update if anyone is following

Upon closer inspection the hole is actually threaded and there is no ball bearing in there. I can only assume there was a bolt/plug type deal in there but who knows how or why it was ever taken out.

It turns out it's a rather uncommon thread pitch but I managed to find a longer both that I've cut down in size. I just need to get some sort of thread sealer tomorrow and then hopefully I can start reassembly of everything and actually get to drive this thing for the first time.

I'm not sure what sealer to use just yet. I'll see what they have at the shop. I definitely dont want to be doing this job again!

Ben

He probably undid every bolt he could see when taking the engine out and just forgot to replace this one. Good luck with the car though.

Thanks,

I fitted a bolt smothered in thread sealant and it appears to have done the trick. I've almost finished re-assembling everything. Getting the auto fluid level correct is the next challenge haha

Ben

Alibro said:

He probably undid every bolt he could see when taking the engine out and just forgot to replace this one. Good luck with the car though.

Click to expand...

Well thanks again everyone who offered assistance, it appears to be fixed.

It's back on it's wheels and i've driven it up and down the street a few times and everything appears good, apart from a hopefully minor cooling issue.

I've followed the land rover instructions to bleed the system several times but I think i've located the problem as the reservoir tank has small cracks at the top and is not allowing the system to build pressure.

Another curiosity which I have found other people comment on being normal is the bottom radiator hose pretty much stayed dead cold whilst the coolant in the bottle was bubbling away. That seems very strange to me but i'll see what happens after a drive.

Ben

You've got keener eyes than me, having been under my Freelander removing and installing the IRD, I'm not sure I'd have spotted that missing bolt.

You definitely need to get that bottle changed PDQ. I'd be warey of driving a K or KV6 with a damaged bottle.

I'm a L Series driver and never run a K or KV6 but I keep seeing threads on people saying their bottom hose is stone cold. I'm not sure if those people are the ones that come back a week later and say they have HGF! Its definitely been discussed lots - probably in the context of plastic thermostats and jiggle valves (or what ever they're called) - TBH I've read about so many petrol cooling issues I've completely lost the context of what's right or wrong!

I'm going to have to buy myself a K Series Freelander to experience the madness that is trying to keep them cool. Wouldn't buy a KV6 though - that would be madness with a huge fuel bill

Ascension said:

Well thanks again everyone who offered assistance, it appears to be fixed.

It's back on it's wheels and i've driven it up and down the street a few times and everything appears good, apart from a hopefully minor cooling issue.

I've followed the land rover instructions to bleed the system several times but I think i've located the problem as the reservoir tank has small cracks at the top and is not allowing the system to build pressure.

Another curiosity which I have found other people comment on being normal is the bottom radiator hose pretty much stayed dead cold whilst the coolant in the bottle was bubbling away. That seems very strange to me but i'll see what happens after a drive.

Ben

Click to expand...

As GG said. Don't run it with a cracked header tank. It WILL kill the head gaskets. With the engine at normal running temperature, it's normal for the bottom rad hose to the just above ambient temperature. This shows the rad is working

Hey everyone,

I ended up ordering a new header tank from over your way.
Got it fitted and fixed up some broken vacuum lines and put all the intake/engine cover back on and gave it a run.

All seemed to be going well so I left it idling while i tinkered with other things. After about 20 minutes though I had coolant boiling out from the header cap. I shut it down then had a fondle of the lower radiator hose and like before it was dead cold.

I know people have said that this is normal and that the radiator is doing it's job but that would mean it's the most efficient damn radiator on the planet! haha

So at this stage would it be possible/plausible/likely that I could have a stuck thermostat?

Cheers
Ben

Possible causes:
faulty coolant bottle - unlikely as you've fitted a new? one
faulty coolant bottle cap
poorly bled cooling system
faulty thermostat

faulty IMG
faulty HG