coolant loss , or not?????

hi
when i fill the header tank to the correct cold level , i'll drive around for a few days and the level drops to the bottom of the header tank. It doesn't matter if I drive 50 or 500 miles it drops to the bottom. It doesn't go any lower , its a v8 with lpg , I noticed some pink crusty bits on the lpg connector pipes but they are dry.
I have checked the oil filler cap and thats clean (and dry! should the oil be hitting the inside of the filler cap? )
I was wondering if the pressure when completely full forces a little out until it reaches a level its happy with.
The engine temp never goes above the half way mark even sat in traffic or under load up hills etc..
if anyone else has had this I'd be interested to hear
Thanks
Andy

Andy:

Crystals of antifreeze indicate a hot leak where the water is evaporating as you are driving, I would get that seen to asap, then try again. There should be no leaks anywhere and no bubbles in the header tank when running.

Fill and bleed with the header tank lifted up out of the mountings.

You should not lose any water at all.

Peter

As Peter says you should not lose any water at all,but in reality a Rover V8 on LPG will lose water,most if not all LPG systems use poor quality tee pieces or leak from the vaporiser itself.
The way to check where the worst of the leaks are is to pressurize the system when its cold up to 10psi then look for the drips.The last one I did had 7 different leaks.

thanks for reply guys.
How do i pressurise the system when cold? is this something i can do myself??

Hi
I've been away for a few days and have found where the leak is.
there are 2 pipes going into what I think is the throttle body and the one on the left as you look from the front is leaking slightly onto the head.
hopefully once this is changed that'll be it

Andy

changed the pipe today , fairly straightforward Ha Ha!!!

started it up and still a slight drip so went to tighten the jubilee clip and as I turned the screw 2 fine jets of fluid from the corner of the throttle body. Doh!!
it was probably this leaking and not the pipe , it looks like a plate held on with some small nuts on the base of the throttle body which has the inlet and return pipes on it. but I can't find any reference to it on my rave cd.

Anybody know anything and whether its a new base or just some gasket seal.
Cheers
Andy

That's the throttle body heater.

I've got a spare throttle body with that attached, needs to have your throttle spindle and bits transferred over, or I could just take the heater part off, you'll need to get a gasket for it. I 'think' that's available as a spare part and you don't have to buy the whole throttle body

Peter

Thanks for reply Peter ,
I'll give LR a call and see what the damage is / can I get just the heater.

I'll let you know
Thanks again
Andy

I have a horrible feeling that it's going to be the whole assembly, there's no maintenance or overhaul notes on the RAVE manual at all, indicative that it will be an assembly change.

I'll have a look later and see what's involved. The seal is probably an O-ring. I'll pop back up to the factory tonight and have a beak at it.

Peter

Picture below, looks like a composite gasket. Those plastic stubs are glued in...

Peter

Hi Peter
thanks for your efforts and time
I've a feeling you are right about the assembly change.
sods law that after 3 weeks off I,m back to work tomorrow so won't be able to do much , and we are meant to being taking the truck to devon on Weds.
tempted to take heater off and try some gasket sealant .

I think looking at the photo that if I can get a new gasket then that shoul do it. I'm sure that it was leaking from the join and not a crack

Looks like it may have been gasket compound that I saw traces of, there is an ali gasket in the joint.

I'll pull it off later and have a look, can always get it in the post on Monday if you need it.

Peter

Peter
Have spoken to LR today and the parts guy gave the impression that this is a common problem.
There is a modified fixing kit?? which is £12 ish and he sold last one yesterday and more coming in Tuesday.
Hopefully that should see me right.
Thanks again for all your help with this..
Andy

fireman-andy said:

Peter
Have spoken to LR today and the parts guy gave the impression that this is a common problem.
There is a modified fixing kit?? which is £12 ish and he sold last one yesterday and more coming in Tuesday.
Hopefully that should see me right.
Thanks again for all your help with this..
Andy

Click to expand...

Get us all the part number please ?

Peter

no problem
assuming this is the correct fix i will post the part no

Andy

That would be appreciated.

The stubs are actually not plastic, they are part of the diecasting, painted to stop the alloy corroding methinks.

Pictures of the removed unit below, gasket is composite ali/rubber/neoprene.

Peter

all fitted today and seems ok
part no MGM000010K
this give the base with the pipes , gasket , and bolts / washers £12.82
you have the modified part there already.
the one I took off has the centre drilled and is thinner round the pipes on the front corners , hence the failure. Apparently they warp due to the 3 bolt configuration not holding the front corners.

Thanks
andy

hi all
apparently not fixed after all..... well the throttle body heater is fixed but there is still a leak. I cant see where it is coming from but have posted pics to show where coolant ends up.
Any ideas please?

thanks
Andy

can't really see form the pic but as previously mentioned the vaporiser is joined to the heater matrix usually above the right hand head... so depending on how its joined you could get those tracks I think.. mine loses a litre or so in 500 miles so I've not done anything about it but when I wiggle the heater matrix pipes i can see where it's dripping from..

thanks for reply , to be honest I can live with it as it is as it does the same ie about 1l every 500 miles or so , I'm just worried its somthing more serious IE head gasket or a hose thats about to let go when i'm on the m/way

Andy