Another mistery coolant leak

serafim · May 5, 2009

Hi,

I'm new here and I'm new with Land Rover too.

I bought here in Brazil a 2005 V6 HSE Freelander with only 30.000 Km.
Since first week I detected a coolant leak. I have to put about 1 liter of coolant every week.

There is no signal of coolant in the oil, in my garage's floor, in the heater core or in any part of the motor.

I left the car for two times in a Land Rover dealer and they made a pressure test. They told me that everything is ok and there isn't any lost of pressure during the two tests. I changed by myself the expansion bottle and the cap and the freelander still loosing coolant.

I searched on this site and I found a lot of information about coolant leaks, but none of them resolve my problem.

Any other suggestion?

Sorry about my bad english.

Thanks

Mauricio

howardo · May 5, 2009

I had a coolant leak on my diesel, It lost about 1 litre per week also.

You could jack up the front and remove undertray and any engine cover, dry all hoses and manifolds, run your engine up to temperature and then run some kitchen towel over the hoses and manifolds looking for any signs of water. Becareful it will be hot.

I found a small hole in my coolant manifold assembly, It had rusted through.

On a similar note i had a burst hose today and lost all my coolant.

serafim · May 5, 2009

Howardo,

Thanks for the help. I will try this on the next weekend, but as the dealer made a pressure test, I think that there isn't any leak in the manifold, hoses or gaskets.

I think that the pressure test is made with motor off and with a cool system. Something is happening when system gets hot.

Thanks

Mauricio

tedshred · May 6, 2009

Also worth checking the expansion bottle and cap.

They are prone to getting a hairline crack

serafim · May 6, 2009

tedshred said:
Also worth checking the expansion bottle and cap.

They are prone to getting a hairline crack

Thanks for the imput, but I changed th bottle and the cap last week and the coolant still leaking.

Is there another test to try find where the coolant is going?

Thanks

Mauricio

howardo · May 6, 2009

Do you only lose coolant when you are running the engine?

You could leave it standing for a few days with the undertray removed and some newspapers underneath to catch any signs of drips.

Are your carpets wet in the footwell?

Chaser · May 6, 2009

The cooling system pressure test has confirmed there are no obvious leaks if the pressure held during the test.
That leads on to the thought that coolant is being lost/used/consumed somehow while the engine is running.
KV6 head gasket and if i remember correctly inlet manifold gasket issues have been posted before so have to be considered

.
How long have you owned the car and did you purchase with a warranty? If you have then keep passing it back to the supplier/dealer to rectify until you are satisfied it no longer uses coolant.
It's well known these engines/models suffer from cooling system defects that will ruin the engine.

serafim · May 6, 2009

howardo said:
Do you only lose coolant when you are running the engine?

You could leave it standing for a few days with the undertray removed and some newspapers underneath to catch any signs of drips.

Are your carpets wet in the footwell?

My carpets are dry.

I left the car standing all last weekend. No leaks.

As Chaser said the coolant is being lost/used/consumed while the engine is running.

I have owned the car for the last 6 months. No warranty.

I don't think that is a HGF. The car is running ok, has only 30.000 Km and the previous owner take a good care of all his cars. What is the symtoms of a HGF?

I will try to change the thermostat. How hard is to install it by myself?

Thanks

Mauricio

The Mad Hat Man · May 6, 2009

try feeling under the front heater console, particularly from the passenger side - that is where you can often find heater matrix leaks - the carpet isnt soaked - just a bit damp normally.

serafim · May 6, 2009

The Mad Hat Man said:
try feeling under the front heater console, particularly from the passenger side - that is where you can often find heater matrix leaks - the carpet isnt soaked - just a bit damp normally.

I will try this tonight.

How hard is to change the thermostat?

Thanks

Kungfu0210 · May 6, 2009

These also leak from the radiator. Usually it's from the top of the radiator at the end of the tube on the grille side. Unfortunately that makes it difficult to see easily.

It's an aluminium rad and when the tube crack first occurs it's only small and thus will sometimes only leak when the car is hot and the tubes expand. It will sometimes pass the system pressure test when cold. I would have thought that a reputable LR dealer would know to check for this though.

Cheers.

ianda12 · May 6, 2009

My V6 used to loose about a pint and the fans would come on.
Water pump and/or thermostat housing./Plastic pipe between pump and housing. Take off your air filter housing so you can see between the inlet manifold castings, if there is water in the casting wells in the V of the engine ( the pump and thermostat housing sits above this V ) that could be your problem. I had it on mine and cured it with rad weld over a year ago with no problems. Although a lot of threads don't recomend this as they say it blocks water ways.
Ran with rad weld for a couple of years before I fixed it properly.
Check this thread
www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/coolant-loss-x-1-expansion-bottle-per-week-47656.html

The Mad Hat Man · May 6, 2009

yup - Thermostat housing - crap design - common failure point.

9997d1241647034-another-mistery-coolant-leak-p6200147.jpg

it tends to shear across the sealing O-ring - as you can see it is held in place by only one bolt - this applies an off centre load which brakes the fitting in the head. If you have any antifreeze in the cooling system, it is easy to see where it is leaking from.

serafim · May 7, 2009

I will order a new thermostat and I will try to change it by myself. I have to wait about 30 days to receive the parts here in Brazil.

I will let you know if I solve the problem with this change.

Thanks

JonFre · May 7, 2009

serafim said:

I will order a new thermostat and I will try to change it by myself. I have to wait about 30 days to receive the parts here in Brazil.

I will let you know if I solve the problem with this change.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Please let us know what you find. Congratulations on your excellent English.

JonFre · May 7, 2009

The Mad Hat Man said:
yup - Thermostat housing - crap design - common failure point.

it tends to shear across the sealing O-ring - as you can see it is held in place by only one bolt - this applies an off centre load which brakes the fitting in the head. If you have any antifreeze in the cooling system, it is easy to see where it is leaking from.

Nice helpful pics, thank you. Pity about the 'Made in England' tag!

serafim · May 9, 2009

JonFre said:
Please let us know what you find. Congratulations on your excellent English.

Thanks!!! When I was fifteen (long time ago) I studied for 2 months in Hastings.

Back to my problem.....I'm scared....I just found where the water is. It is in oil.
I was checking oil using the stick (the place where you check the oil's level. I don't know the correct name). At this place the oil looks ok with correct color, but today I opened the oil's filler cap and I found a creamy oil inside (look like a grease).
Is this a Hgf???
Thanks

JonFre · May 9, 2009

serafim said:

Thanks!!! When I was fifteen (long time ago) I studied for 2 months in Hastings.

Back to my problem.....I'm scared....I just found where the water is. It is in oil.
I was checking oil using the stick (the place where you check the oil's level. I don't know the correct name). At this place the oil looks ok with correct color, but today I opened the oil's filler cap and I found a creamy oil inside (look like a grease).
Is this a Hgf???

Click to expand...

serafim said:
I'm afraid it does appear to be HGF. If confirmed do be careful in selecting the garage to do the work. Unless it is carried out in a competent manner it will quicklly fail again. Read everything you can find on this site regarding the KV6 engine.
Good luck.

The Mad Hat Man · May 9, 2009

Before yu jump to conlusions, do yu only do short runs? If yu do, then it could just be condensation.

serafim · May 9, 2009

The Mad Hat Man said:
Before yu jump to conlusions, do yu only do short runs? If yu do, then it could just be condensation.

I usually run about 50 km in a day. 25 km to go to work and more 25 km to go back to my house. This short trips explain the dark brown oil in stick and the white creamy oil in the filler cap? I really hope so...I couldn't sleep this night thinking about the milk oil. I have to wait until monday to take the car to a LR garage.
is there another symptoms that I should looking for to confirm (or discart) the Hgf problem?
Thanks
Mauricio

Another mistery coolant leak

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