Freelander 1 Alloy coolant bottle?

So I'm 1 year, 6000 miles, one HG and a clutch into my Freelander ownership

The clutch and the HG didn't bother me as both were expected, but what has annoyed me is the coolant bottle and cap, in 6k my second one is now failing and this is 100% genuine Land Rover one I bought in person from the stealers. After a long motorway run I can see it loosing a bit out of the cap (same problem as the eBay one I fitted with the HG)

New plan is an alloy one, probably a kit car type bolted to the bulkhead as a custom direct swap is far too expensive for a Yorkshireman

Has anyone done this? Also what pressure cap will it need? As they range from 7psi to about 30, and that is a huge difference

My other thought was a level sensor wired to a warning light, as seen on this forum, but more because the bottles are cheaper without a sight glass

Good idea
The standard plastic tanks are carp. Fit an alloy tank with sensor and sight gauge.
The pressure cap needs to be 16+ Psi. It's probably worth having a higher pressure than standard. I'd be using something liked an 18 or 20 Psi cap.

Thanks for that Nodge, I was thinking 18-20 psi but it was based on a dim and distant memory

I don't want a sight glass as its expensive and another point of failure, I can stick a level sensor say half way up, fill the bottle 3/4 and if the level drops I've still got some in there.

I've some mods planned next year so need the cooling to be spot on, I'm adding a few gauges and an oil cooler first to try and help it as well

That's an interesting thought. I hadn't considered anything other than a standard coolant bottle.

Thought about that waterless coolant? Runs at a low pressure. Cost of tank ... Might be close to that coolant!

Pressure cap is 110 kPa around 15 Psi and nothing higher or lower should be used. If the cap is sound (they can be tested) and you have enough internal pressure to expel coolant (providing it is not being overfilled) you have a problem. Find someone with a static test rig and have the system checked out.

Waterless won't work with next years plans

I had the whole system checked when the first bottle failed, it was put down to being a cheapo eBay one
It was hissing when I stopped and not really pressurising

All I've seen on this is a bit of pink residue after around 250 miles of motorway, when we stopped at the services. No discernible drop in fluid level once I got home (parked on level ground, smack on max line)

I could well be over thinking this, my first job is to add a gauge so I can see what the actual temp is

wammers said:

Pressure cap is 110 kPa around 15 Psi and nothing higher or lower should be used. If the cap is sound (they can be tested) and you have enough internal pressure to expel coolant (providing it is not being overfilled) you have a problem. Find someone with a static test rig and have the system checked out.

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Factory Freelander cap is 16 Psi. If high performance cooling system is required 18 or 20 Psi is perfectly acceptable and beneficial.

Kayos said:

Waterless won't work with next years plans

I had the whole system checked when the first bottle failed, it was put down to being a cheapo eBay one
It was hissing when I stopped and not really pressurising

All I've seen on this is a bit of pink residue after around 250 miles of motorway, when we stopped at the services. No discernible drop in fluid level once I got home (parked on level ground, smack on max line)

I could well be over thinking this, my first job is to add a gauge so I can see what the actual temp is

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I've looked into waterless coolant. It doesn't boil which is good. However it has thermal transfer properties much lower than standard OAT coolant. This probably won't help in the K series engine where there are large temperature differentials across the block.
Stick with standard OAT and make sure the system holds proper pressure. Don't forget that the K series engine can run anywhere between 76°C and 114°C and remain in the normal temp positions on the gauge.

hi my friend , i used a bottle of another car from a mitsubishi taxi and i use it 150000km now.No problems all ok

Nodge68 said:

Factory Freelander cap is 16 Psi. If high performance cooling system is required 18 or 20 Psi is perfectly acceptable and beneficial.

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If you want to blow the hoses off but carry on.

wammers said:

If you want to blow the hoses off but carry on.

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Good condition standard rubber coolant hoses with worm drive clips will take well over 30 Psi. Setting the cap at 20 Psi is well within there capacity, with a huge safety margin. Running the K series at higher pressure is a good way to reduce localised boiling.

Nodge68 said:

Good condition standard rubber coolant hoses with worm drive clips will take well over 30 Psi. Setting the cap at 20 Psi is well within there capacity, with a huge safety margin. Running the K series at higher pressure is a good way to reduce localised boiling.

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Standard cars don't use worm drive clips. Just sticking a higher psi cap on to cover what maybe other problems is plain daft.

Nodge68 said:

Good condition standard rubber coolant hoses with worm drive clips will take well over 30 Psi. Setting the cap at 20 Psi is well within there capacity, with a huge safety margin. Running the K series at higher pressure is a good way to reduce localised boiling.

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With Freelander you are just as likely to blow open the heater matrix!

wammers said:

Standard cars don't use worm drive clips. Just sticking a higher psi cap on to cover what maybe other problems is plain daft.

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No they use spring clips. The hoses still won't blow off as 20 Psi.
Redesigning the K series engine is a bit more complex than running the cooling system at 10% higher pressure.

The heater matrix fails though poor manufacturing. 10% more coolant pressure won't make much difference to it. If it's going to fail, it'll fail, regardless of coolant pressure.

All early Freelander petrol or diesel used a 100 Kpa cap 14.5 Psi. Later ones use 110 Kpa cap 16 psi. Driven normally the internal system pressure should never get near that.

wammers said:

All early Freelander petrol or diesel used a 100 Kpa cap 14.5 Psi. Later ones use 110 Kpa cap 16 psi. Driven normally the internal system pressure should never get near that.

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LR found that 14.5 Psi wasn't enough to prevent coolant loss in some situations. 14.5 Psi prevents boiling up to 119°C.
They upped the pressure cap to 16 Psi to increase boiling point to 121°C.
Increasing the cap to 18 or 20 Psi will add to the safety margin by preventing boiling until 123°C or 125°C respectively.
True. Under normal situations 16 Psi should be fine. But with the K series, it's always wise to have a higher safety margin.

Nodge68 said:

LR found that 14.5 Psi wasn't enough to prevent coolant loss in some situations. 14.5 Psi prevents boiling up to 119°C.
They upped the pressure cap to 16 Psi to increase boiling point to 121°C.
Increasing the cap to 18 or 20 Psi will add to the safety margin by preventing boiling until 123°C or 125°C respectively.
True. Under normal situations 16 Psi should be fine. But with the K series, it's always wise to have a higher safety margin.

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All that considered and not trying to be funny, but if he has a 16 Psi cap fitted and it is in good condition, he should not be getting expulsion of coolant, providing it has not been over filled, when coolant will always be expelled. He may have other problems that need looking at.

Most modern cars run a coolant pressures between 110Kpa and 135Kpa. They don't suffer hoses blowing off, but have a good safety margin where boiling is a consideration.

Besides the OP was asking about a different tank. The FL offering is particularly poor and cracks readily. No pressure cap is going to work if the tank can't hold it. So yes a better alloy tank will solve a problem, even if the factory 16 Psi is used.