Coolant exploded all over engine bay!!

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Hey.. Update on the condition... I did a 300 mile round trip including some mud plugging through a farmers field which was bogged with mud (with permission). No LEAKS!!!!!!!! yeah!!!! Still monitoring though.....

I am in the process of sorting out all the oil leaks, but one question remains...

The engine wiring harness is full of oil... What would cause this and if left, what problems would this cause? How do I go about replacing it and what do I need to strip down to get to it?? Sorry, not that good with electrics... LR Harwoods, quoted £600 to replace to harness stating that it was an urgent problem.. Are they just violating my credit card or can I do the job myself? I am fairly competent with mechanics... I have just never removed a head before..

Thanks again..

M.R
 
easy job remove rocker cover and replace injector harness 6 x plugs altogether ,£30 parts then clean out main loom as much as possible with suitable aerosol,including ecu end
 
MudRat said:
Hey.. Update on the condition... I did a 300 mile round trip including some mud plugging through a farmers field which was bogged with mud (with permission). No LEAKS!!!!!!!! yeah!!!! Still monitoring though.....

I am in the process of sorting out all the oil leaks, but one question remains...

The engine wiring harness is full of oil... What would cause this and if left, what problems would this cause? How do I go about replacing it and what do I need to strip down to get to it?? Sorry, not that good with electrics... LR Harwoods, quoted £600 to replace to harness stating that it was an urgent problem.. Are they just violating my credit card or can I do the job myself? I am fairly competent with mechanics... I have just never removed a head before..

Thanks again..

M.R
Click to expand...

Have you still got any signs of pressurising in your coolant or does that seem to have sorted itself? It's sounding promising so far.:)

I'd say that at £600 it aint your credit card that is gonna get violated.:eek::eek::eek:

Do keep checking the red ecu plug even after the injector loom is changed.
 
I will do. I have been monitoring the level carefully. If anything, the level seems to be going down, but I may be imagining this. The pressure seems to be ok, but I am concerned it is still running a little warm.. I might have to recon the rad or upgrade the fan. The temp guage runs a couple of mm above norm. Not hot, but warmer than I'd expect. Also when I open the coolant cap while running... there is no air bubbles rising. A good sign I think. Either way, I am going to give it a good clear up on Wed, I have to change the Rocker cover gasket and injector loom before blowing the oil out by the ECU... so, I will do some heat tests on the rad with my IR temp guage...

I don't think I have crossed so many fingers, toes and other things in all my life... but it does seem to be holding. This is a promising sign...

M.R
 
Well.. I am noticing something interesting.. The coolant level is definitely going down. very very slowly, but definitely going down. About 1cm in the coolant expansion bottle every 1500 miles or so.. No signs of leaking. Radiator looks good. Pressure tested and all seemed fine. I even ran the thing in the dark with a torch to look for slightest sign of steam. Nothing.... However.... I can smell coolant in the air con in the car. When I run the fan, I can smell coolant. hmmmm... Not sure what or where this is coming from.

I have done the head sniff test. nothing in exhaust gasses. head seems fine. no sign of leaks or cracks. Ultrasound produced a clear result. I suspect that it is still leaking and somehow getting into the air con system. Any suggestions?

MudRat
 
MudRat said:
Well.. I am noticing something interesting.. The coolant level is definitely going down. very very slowly, but definitely going down. About 1cm in the coolant expansion bottle every 1500 miles or so.. No signs of leaking. Radiator looks good. Pressure tested and all seemed fine. I even ran the thing in the dark with a torch to look for slightest sign of steam. Nothing.... However.... I can smell coolant in the air con in the car. When I run the fan, I can smell coolant. hmmmm... Not sure what or where this is coming from.

I have done the head sniff test. nothing in exhaust gasses. head seems fine. no sign of leaks or cracks. Ultrasound produced a clear result. I suspect that it is still leaking and somehow getting into the air con system. Any suggestions?

MudRat
Click to expand...

It could be that your heater matrix is leaking ever so slightly behind the dash, hence not being able to actually see the leak but being able to smell it.
 
funnily enough, my vw started to slowly lose water over the summer holidays. did as you did trying to find the leak. looking for watermarks, steam etc. the only clue was a faint smell of coolant when the heater and blower were on, also making me suspect the heater matrix.
as a temporary measure i`ve put some radweld in to see if i can stop the leak. it does seem to have worked.
still going to try and find the source of the leak though.
 
I'm watching this thread as I have the same symptoms on my 2002 TD5 facelift; it blew a top hose on the M6 18 months ago and the head was found to be perfect. I replaced the hose, head gasket and rad cap and it has gone perfectly until last month when it overheated despite full water and oil levels. I have again had the head off and pressure tested to find it perfect, but I still believe it's pressurising the hoses. I'm getting the ECU diagnosed on Monday next at a local dealership; I need the electric fan turned off as it's running all the time now.
 
Personaly would only use "radweld" as a temporary get me home fix ! Think of everthing else it's blocking :rolleyes:

The coolant level dropping 1cm and finding a level is fairly common as long as it dunt carry on dropping.

A mate of mine had a similar problem and put it down to cheap anti-freeze. He boiled cheap anti-freeze and expensive LR stuff in a pan and found that the LR anti-freeze had a +20 ° c higher boiling point.

Good Luck :)
 
Jason2 said:
Personaly would only use "radweld" as a temporary get me home fix ! Think of everthing else it's blocking :rolleyes:
totally agree with you there.
i put it in hoping to eliminate the smell of coolant when the heater/blower is on.
my reasoning being that if it does the leak will be on the heater circuit.
Click to expand...
 
Well.. I will put half the bottle of radweld in then... I suspect that there is a leak. the level does keep on dropping. Just not quite right... I think the leak is in the heater matrix. This will be a pain in the backside to change if it is where I think it is.. Hence trying an alternative solution first...

But strangely enough. It just seems the pressure levels are too high and just don't seem to be releasing properly. I am using the LR coolant. paid a fortune for it. Replaced all the rad caps and pressure release valves etc. Replaced the top and bottom hose twice and it still seems to find another way out!

Logically there is only one conclusion... My head gasket? They are convinced it is fine, but there can only be one source of over pressurisation. Yet ironically the sniff test came back neg, unless the garage just did not do it properly... Ratty is 100% right. I just did not want to admit defeat and have to change the gasket!

I think I will do it anyway.

MudRat.
 
MudRat said:
Well.. I will put half the bottle of radweld in then... I suspect that there is a leak. the level does keep on dropping. Just not quite right... I think the leak is in the heater matrix. This will be a pain in the backside to change if it is where I think it is.. Hence trying an alternative solution first...

But strangely enough. It just seems the pressure levels are too high and just don't seem to be releasing properly. I am using the LR coolant. paid a fortune for it. Replaced all the rad caps and pressure release valves etc. Replaced the top and bottom hose twice and it still seems to find another way out!

Logically there is only one conclusion... My head gasket? They are convinced it is fine, but there can only be one source of over pressurisation. Yet ironically the sniff test came back neg, unless the garage just did not do it properly... Ratty is 100% right. I just did not want to admit defeat and have to change the gasket!

I think I will do it anyway.

MudRat.
Click to expand...


Before you add the radweld or get your head gasket changed have you tried simply leaving the coolant level as it is to see if it drops any further? I have come across vehicles that will drop the coolant to a point where it will then sit happily.

I still hope I'm wrong about the HG/cracked head.;)
 
Last edited:
MudRat said:
Well.. I will put half the bottle of radweld in then... I suspect that there is a leak. the level does keep on dropping. Just not quite right... I think the leak is in the heater matrix. This will be a pain in the backside to change if it is where I think it is.. Hence trying an alternative solution first...

But strangely enough. It just seems the pressure levels are too high and just don't seem to be releasing properly. I am using the LR coolant. paid a fortune for it. Replaced all the rad caps and pressure release valves etc. Replaced the top and bottom hose twice and it still seems to find another way out!

Logically there is only one conclusion... My head gasket? They are convinced it is fine, but there can only be one source of over pressurisation. Yet ironically the sniff test came back neg, unless the garage just did not do it properly... Ratty is 100% right. I just did not want to admit defeat and have to change the gasket!

I think I will do it anyway.

MudRat.
Click to expand...

The coolant level on my landy dropped by about 1cm last winter. I was unable to locate a leak and there was no sign of residue on any of the connections. I continued to monitor it but was still unable to locate any leak.

The answer cam while working on a customers car during the snow. I noticed a single pink drip on the snow under my landy. Now I knew the vicinity of the leak in relation to the engine bay, A quick adjustment of the jubilee clip on the bottom hose to radiator connection and no more lost coolant.

TBH, if you are only losing coolant at a rate of 1cm every 1500 miles I would hold back on replacing the head/HG for now. Instead I'd start putting some money to one side so that if/when it does start getting worse you have the money available to get it sorted. If it takes its time you may even find yourself with enough money to get yourself a spanish head as a replacement.
 
That my old chesnut is a great suggestion! I always like the idea of saving money... If I did the head, I would probably take the engine out and recondition it myself with new shells and bearings and rings etc.. Your right about the spanish head. I have heard lots of good things about those. I think the plan is to save up and then recon the whole thing with the new head..

Re the coolant dropping, too late, I added half a small bottle of rad weld. :frusty:
nothing I can do now. I will just have to wait and see. The reason why I think there is a leak, is the fact I can still smell it (fluid) burning. But it only smells when the aircon/ heater is on, which makes me think that it must have something to do with the heater matrix. Since this thread had started, I have nearly added 2 litres topping it up... That can't be norm can it??? I have inspected every other visible joint and there is just no sign of a leak in the engine bay. There is always a possibility that I have missed something.

Hey ho... I will give it a few days and hope the rad weld has not destroyed my coolant system too much. If it has clogged it up, I will be gutted and back to square 1.

Ratty, I assume soon as you changed your head gasket all the symptoms stopped completely?

MudRat
 
MudRat said:
That my old chesnut is a great suggestion! I always like the idea of saving money... If I did the head, I would probably take the engine out and recondition it myself with new shells and bearings and rings etc.. Your right about the spanish head. I have heard lots of good things about those. I think the plan is to save up and then recon the whole thing with the new head..

Re the coolant dropping, too late, I added half a small bottle of rad weld. :frusty:
nothing I can do now. I will just have to wait and see. The reason why I think there is a leak, is the fact I can still smell it (fluid) burning. But it only smells when the aircon/ heater is on, which makes me think that it must have something to do with the heater matrix. Since this thread had started, I have nearly added 2 litres topping it up... That can't be norm can it??? I have inspected every other visible joint and there is just no sign of a leak in the engine bay. There is always a possibility that I have missed something.

Hey ho... I will give it a few days and hope the rad weld has not destroyed my coolant system too much. If it has clogged it up, I will be gutted and back to square 1.

Ratty, I assume soon as you changed your head gasket all the symptoms stopped completely?

MudRat
Click to expand...
Is that a 300 motor?
 
Failing that, I will just have to wait until it snows and the camp underneath my disco for a couple of days, to stop the red drip. As long as I don't get it confused with my cats yellow snow deposits, I should be able to see!
 
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