Freelander 1 Coolant loss on 1.8 petrol

Hi there, seem to be suffering from coolant loss yesterday when driving home from work, temp gauge didn't go above halfway but engine seemed distinctly lumpy at idle. checked coolant when home and expansion bottle was empty so i've topped it up with water and antifreeze mix and have run the engine okay and it seemed fine. i'll run it up to temp at the weekend and see what gives, can't see any obvious leaks but any thoughts on what to check from the hive mind?

cheers

Steve

Head or head gasket......

Any trace of a leak from water pump?

Cracks in expansion tank around the neck.

Leaks from heater matrix - is passenger side footwell damp (under any mats)?

My bet is on inlet manifold gasket

potus said:

Head or head gasket......

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Thats my fear, have bought a test kit to check for gases getting into the expansion tank, should be here tomorrow.

freelance said:

Any trace of a leak from water pump?

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Will check tomorrow but nothing obvious, however there seems to be water in the engine undertray but i thought it might have been from the wet drive on the way home, i'll get under at the weekend and check

GrumpyGel said:

Cracks in expansion tank around the neck.

Leaks from heater matrix - is passenger side footwell damp (under any mats)?

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Carpets seem dry thankfully

PRO said:

My bet is on inlet manifold gasket

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good call, will check that tomorrow or the weekend

if you start from cold and feel like a misfire for a minute and some petrol smell it's the inlet manifold gasket they do fail even more often than the hg after 60k miles.

PRO said:

if you start from cold and feel like a misfire for a minute and some petrol smell it's the inlet manifold gasket they do fail even more often than the hg after 60k miles.

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would that cause coolant loss as well? is it linked to the cooling system?

drfoster said:

would that cause coolant loss as well? is it linked to the cooling system?

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Very much

If you do replace it get the viton uprated one, el cheapos and even genuine won't last

got the test kit today, put onto the expansion tank, started car and blue liquid went yellow almost immediately so it looks like a head gasket issue. luckily will be covered under the warranty i got with the car, and will be repaired by the garage i bought it from, but can't be looked at for 2 weeks. they are planning to remove the head, replace the gasket, skim the head and pressure test it all. i'll get them to replace the cambelt at the same time for peace of mind. thanks for everyones input and ideas.

Make sure that they measure the liner heights and fit the correct gasket for the specific engine and measurements obtained.

Cam belt should always be done with head off as it will have stretched and cannot be accurately tensioned when refitting.
Obviously water pump and tensioner go without saying if the garage know what they are doing.

andyfreelandy said:

Make sure that they measure the liner heights and fit the correct gasket for the specific engine and measurements obtained.

Cam belt should always be done with head off as it will have stretched and cannot be accurately tensioned when refitting.
Obviously water pump and tensioner go without saying if the garage know what they are doing.

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Cheers for the advice, i'll make sure they do the lot.

drfoster said:

got the test kit today, put onto the expansion tank, started car and blue liquid went yellow almost immediately so it looks like a head gasket issue.

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What test kit did you get?
Going yellow straight away after adding to the coolant sounds like UV leak detection dye.

Normally you test for HG failure by putting a blue liquid into a special bubble tube, which is pushed into the coolant tank filler neck. If the HG has failed, then CO2 bubbles through the special liquid and turns it green.

Nodge68 said:

What test kit did you get?
Going yellow straight away after adding to the coolant sounds like UV leak detection dye.

Normally you test for HG failure by putting a blue liquid into a special bubble tube, which is pushed into the coolant tank filler neck. If the HG has failed, then CO2 bubbles through the special liquid and turns it green.

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Hi there, i should have uploaded a picture really. the kit was the tube type, basically an airlock like a fermenter, you add the blue liquid and it bubbles through. - Amazon product , interestingly now showing as 28.00 but i only paid 18.99 , could have got one cheaper on ebay but i needed it quick. given it'll do 50 tests i'm sure it will pay for itself with all the crap vehicles we have in our family.

If you have the original expansion tank, they are prone to micro cracks around the neck, hard to see when the coolant is cold. A better designed tank is available.

Col

If you do the head gasket change inlet manifold gasket as well. Much easier with head on bench.