Coolant exploded all over engine bay!!

Oh dear,

my dear Boris is feeling very sorry for himself. On route home, I had every light come on my dash and then smoke poured out from under the bonnet... Think white smoke..

Then I looked underneath the bonnet and there was clear oil everywhere. I thought my ACE had exploded as my HDC and anti roll lights all came on.. I limped home the last few hundred meters.. Trying to locate the issue.. The ACE was fine, no leaks. But low and behold, the coolant expansion tank was empty!!!!! I opened up the top and I could smell the same burning oil smell. Dipping my finger in, became apparent that the expansion tank had oil in it. Not engine oil, no grey matter, but thin clear oil, like castor oil. It is like, someone has put oil in it for some freaking stupid reason!!!!!!! There is no contamination in the engine and the normal engine oil is nice and black as norm.. but what the hell???? It like exploded all over my engine. Most of the lights have now gone out on my dash, but I still cant figure out where is leaked and what the hell this oil was doing in the coolant system!?? IT has the clarity and consistancy of baby oil....

Any ideas??

I bought it recently from a LR dealer after the woman part exchanged it.. Not suprisingly.. 100k 2000 reg and I have spent 2k in 1 month repairing the steering box, shocks, ride height sensors, ABS sensors, HUB, and tyres and not to forget, the sunroof seal...

Grrr!!!! I just wish BORIS would go for a month without anything else dying! But seriously though, any idea's on the oil would be grateful!

A frustrated M.R:frusty:

It has been tested and clarified. The suspected oil is is fact undiluted Halfords Antifreeze. It is clear and oily and smells like castor oil.

I am still not sure what caused it to explode everywhere and why it sent all my warning lights frantic.... Either way, taken it into Harwoods. Bit the bullet so they can pressure test it. Not looking forward to the ££££££££££££££££'s.....

My missus is now suggesting we sell it and buy a Subaru...!! Hmmmm.. I half like the idea, but it's just not a Land Rover! *Sigh*

My wife also just worked out I have spent £2300 in 3 months repairing the thing too... How sad.. That was just parts as I did all the mechanics... *deeper sigh*

Maybe your oil cooler's failed, pumping engine oil into the coolant system. Oil cooler is bolted on to the side of the block underneath the turbo - sits in the water jacket.

Corrodes pretty quick if the wrong mix of coolant/water not used.

Happened to me;

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f8/oil-cooler-head-gasket-115938.html

Hi Ianrobbo... I thought of that, but there is no engine oil in the coolant and I would probably expect to see that, like wise, I have not seen any coolant in the engine oil???? It's difficult to tell with such an explosion of coolant all over the engine!!!!

Are you sure that it's not diesel in your coolant?

That's a very good question.. Only thing is, it does not smell like diesel at all. It smells just like castor oil... How could there be diesel in it?? Whats the link?? I might be thick, but I thought it would be a sealed system unless the head gasket failed and then there would be a likely hood of oil contamination, but diesel?? Interesting thought though... Might have to a swap or two....

did yu say yu bought it from a dealer? within the last 6 months? if so its his responsibility to fix everything.

wot injun yu got?

MudRat said:

That's a very good question.. Only thing is, it does not smell like diesel at all. It smells just like castor oil... How could there be diesel in it?? Whats the link?? I might be thick, but I thought it would be a sealed system unless the head gasket failed and then there would be a likely hood of oil contamination, but diesel?? Interesting thought though... Might have to a swap or two....

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You don't usually boil diesel hence the difference in smell.

It could be the fuel cooler has failed, it could be the fuel rail in the head has cracked, it could be the hg has gone.

ratty said:

You don't usuall boil diesel hence the difference in smell.

It could be the fuel cooler has failed, it could be the fuel rail in the head has cracked, it could be the hg has gone.

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thas only on the td5 tho - int it?

The Mad Hat Man said:

thas only on the td5 tho - int it?

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yep he said his is a 2000 model with ACE and HDC so I'm guessing it's a TD5 and not a v8.

Oh Don't!!!! Now you are talking about ££££££££££'s I can feel my skiing holiday slipping away already....

Well, It's a possibility, but the splash all occurred around the area by the ACE reservoir and turbo?? The engine still runs smoothly with no powerloss or issues apart from an empty coolant tank.....? Which is why I would be surprised is diesel has contaminated it! Mind you, it does have the same consistency as diesel.

How would you test for it?? Hawkeye has given no faults apart from the usual ABS being emotional sensor glitch.

MAD HAT MAN--- I would love to, but he gave me no warranty and his garage has folded and gone under. Not the most honest dealer I expect... Mind you, he did sell a few disco's which mostly were over priced! But either way.. It's a TD5!

The Mad Hat Man said:

did yu say yu bought it from a dealer? within the last 6 months? if so its his responsibility to fix everything.

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did ya read this?

MudRat said:

Oh Don't!!!! Now you are talking about ££££££££££'s I can feel my skiing holiday slipping away already....

Well, It's a possibility, but the splash all occurred around the area by the ACE reservoir and turbo?? The engine still runs smoothly with no powerloss or issues apart from an empty coolant tank.....? Which is why I would be surprised is diesel has contaminated it! Mind you, it does have the same consistency as diesel.

How would you test for it?? Hawkeye has given no faults apart from the usual ABS being emotional sensor glitch.

MAD HAT MAN--- I would love to, but he gave me no warranty and his garage has folded and gone under. Not the most honest dealer I expect... Mind you, he did sell a few disco's which mostly were over priced! But either way.. It's a TD5!

Click to expand...

If the coolant level rose due to diesel contamination it could have caused the system to pressurise and then expel the coolant out of the weakest point in the system. When my HG went I managed to blow a 3 week old top hose. It was a tiny hole in the back (right on the join with the hose to the heater matrix) that only showed up when under pressure.

*The lightbulb has lit* Cheers Ratty, that makes perfect sense and explains a lot... I will await the pressure test tomorrow... How do you test the HG then and would I have noticed any difference in the running?? Yet the bizaare thing, it only occurred when a stupid transit pulled out on me and I had to slam on the brakes!!! But maybe that was the cherry on the top so to speak..

The only reason why I say how do you test it?? The head is cleaner than a whistle... with no signs of leaks around it and the engine runs and sounds sweeter than a sweet thing??? I just don't want to have to change it for the sake of it...

If that makes sense...

M.R

MudRat said:

*The lightbulb has lit* Cheers Ratty, that makes perfect sense and explains a lot... I will await the pressure test tomorrow... How do you test the HG then and would I have noticed any difference in the running?? Yet the bizaare thing, it only occurred when a stupid transit pulled out on me and I had to slam on the brakes!!! But maybe that was the cherry on the top so to speak..

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TD5's can be a bitch to test. It really depends on how the HG fails. If it's purely the injector rail then it may not show up at all.

My own TD5 passed multiple pressure and sniff tests. It was only my gut that said summit was wrong. To test for leaks on the coolant system they can do a pressure test by literally blowing the coolant system up with a hand pump. That will show any coolant leaks without getting scalded.

MudRat said:

The only reason why I say how do you test it?? The head is cleaner than a whistle... with no signs of leaks around it and the engine runs and sounds sweeter than a sweet thing??? I just don't want to have to change it for the sake of it...

If that makes sense...

M.R

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I did over 3000 miles with my HG gone. I had diesel getting into my coolant which I put down to a faulty fuel cooler so I bypassed it to test the theory. I also had excess pressure building in the top hose. It turned out that I had 2 cracks in my head. One in the fuel rail and one on the inlet side. If I kept the engine running while static I would see a single air bubble from the bleed screw in the top hose about once every 3 or 4 mins. I could run the engine on tickover all day with no probs. The problem only occurred once the turbo spooled up.

My HG was changed and the head PASSED a pressure test and was refitted. After a couple of weeks I decided that things still weren't right. The engineer who pressure tested the head refused to believe there was a problem. It was only after the head was removed and tested again that the problems were found.

I guess it will be a case of fixing the coolant system and then monitor it closely and if the levels increase, then I have my answer!? I may be tempted to replace the HG anyway, the injector rails are stupidly expensive, so I will start the cheaper option...

Thanks Ratty, I just wish it would be a little more reliable!

MudRat said:

I guess it will be a case of fixing the coolant system and then monitor it closely and if the levels increase, then I have my answer!? I may be tempted to replace the HG anyway, the injector rails are stupidly expensive, so I will start the cheaper option...

Thanks Ratty, I just wish it would be a little more reliable!

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That's the route I took aswell.

I ended up with everything new apart from the radiator and the heater matrix before I decided that it had to be HG. All new pipes,thermostat, water pump, radiator cap etc.