Freelander 1 Coolant Leaks :(

Hello all.
Is it just my luck? Any hoo, In a previous thread we came to the conclusion, that due to coolant loss the fill up bottle was at fault. And it is.
As of last week there were no other problems. No, today I parked at work in our underground car park. Nice and dry there. There's coolant loss from the area of the Rad now. I took the under tray off this afternoon but can not see a thing. I know in my last thread 110tim, had the same thing.
I have to say, I'd rather not part with, what has been a Great motor.

Is this a big job? It really looks it. Also, what is the best route to go if i do the job? Brand new Rad or scrapper Rad?
As always I really welcome all your advice. I do have a Haynes Manual and will refer to it. It's just that this Forum is better.
Cheers all.

It's not a huge job to replace the rad, as long as you do it methodically.
The worst part is you need to remove the front bumper, as the rest of the cooling pack (AC condenser, power steering cooler loop, and intercooler) are removed from the rad from the front.
Once the rest of the cooler pack is removed, and moved aside, the radiator is only held in place by some upper fittings, the bottom just sits in a rubber mount.
I took me about 3 hours to replace a FL1 rad, and a lot of that was taken up by the rusty screws on the front bumper.

Thanks Nodge68.
Have not looked yet, Is it bst to go new or second Rad do you think.
Thanks.

Have to agree with @Nodge68 it's a straight forward job once the bumper is off (I've done mine twice in 5 yrs just been unlucky with stones hitting it some how).
I would get a new one, Nissin's are a good make, as you don't know how long a s/h one would last.

MULDERKE said:

Thanks Nodge68.
Have not looked yet, Is it bst to go new or second Rad do you think.
Thanks.

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Definitely new, they're not that expensive.
Advanced Factors have OE rads in stock, for £133 delivered, which will outlast the vehicle. https://www.advancedfactors.co.uk/pcc000321-nissens-64310a-radiator-1115197-p.asp

Thats what i'll do.
Once done I don't want to revisit it!
Thanks Nodge68
As always. Cheers..

What a Forum!
THANKS.

Nissens 64310A Engine Coolant Radiator Land Rover Freelander 97 | eBay
A thoughts.

Thanks for your time on this.

MULDERKE said:

Nissens 64310A Engine Coolant Radiator Land Rover Freelander 97 | eBay
A thoughts.

Thanks for your time on this.

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It says its for a 97, which is before the TD4 came out, so it might not have the necessary lugs to support the intercooler or AC condenser, although the numbers seem to be the same.

I used a Nissen rad, vey good quality made in Denmark, a straight forward job, just the rusty wheelarch screws

MULDERKE said:

Nissens 64310A Engine Coolant Radiator Land Rover Freelander 97 | eBay
A thoughts.

Thanks for your time on this.

Click to expand...

As you can see from the pic- I ordered what was advertised as a Nissins rad but it wasn't (see what I wrote on it at the time !)so just get them to confirm it is & tell them that they'll be responsible for the return postage if it's not. I needed mine back on the road so didn't bother. As @Nodge68 pointed out & he's right, it says 97 as did my invoice but it fitted perfectly & is still good so maybe they got the year wrong who knows, just cover your ass.

Andy Warren said:

I ordered what was advertised as a Nissins rad but it wasn't (see what I wrote on it at the time !)

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If it's advertised as a Nissens rad, and a different one is sent, then the different rad isn't OE, as the OE rad is a nissens.

Just in case someone stumbles onto this thread in future. Seeing the comments about a 97 rad fitting later cars... the rad from my MY01 K series car (ie 2000+) would not fit a pre MY01 K series.

GrumpyGel said:

Just in case someone stumbles onto this thread in future. Seeing the comments about a 97 rad fitting later cars... the rad from my MY01 K series car (ie 2000+) would not fit a pre MY01 K series.

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Out of interest, what was the difference, which prevented the later rad from fitted the earlier vehicle?

Hello all.
Just looking through the Haynes manual, it states the removal of the cooling fans before taking out the Rad. Is it possible to get Rad out of the car and then swap them over. Thanks in advance for any tips on this.
Cheers

Nodge68 said:

Out of interest, what was the difference, which prevented the later rad from fitted the earlier vehicle?

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I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you as the info was given to me in a PM.

Pretty sure I wouldn't upset anyone if I did say why, but I don't want to decide that for them!

No problem. I was just curious for others. I'm not bothered myself, I don't have a FL1 now, and would just buy a new rad from AF if I needed one anyway.

Just to plug this Tread.
To me, it doesn't look that easy of a job. Rad is on its way.
Is there any,,to look out for,
I'm not a young man by any stretch. The Haynes says it needs two, to take off the Bumber.
Is that correct?
Cheers

Personally, one of the things I hate most working on engines is removing hoses - so to me its a PITA job. From memory there's lots of stuff (coolers) bolted to and around the rad - but its all accessible once the bumper is removed and at a reasonable height. As I say, from memory.

The bumper removal isn't totally a 2 man job, I've removed and reinstall a couple a couple of times always single handed - but it would make it easier and probably less likely to damage anything having another person. Just choose someone who doesn't mind naughty words because although the clips on the sides of the wings do a really good job, who ever designed the set up must have been on drugs to dream it up. The bolts that go through the clips are almost inaccessible, you're basically finding loosening/tightening them blind behind the plastic covers and must have been designed by the same bloke.

MULDERKE said:

I'm not a young man by any stretch. The Haynes says it needs two, to take off the Bumber.
Is that correct?

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The bumper is very light, just a few pounds. I've removed and refitted the FL1 bumper many times, as well as many other vehicles, none of them are really a 2 man job, they're just a bit floppy to maneuver, but not at all strenuous.