Coolant Mystery

Hi all,

I have a 2001 TD4 and my coolant appears to be disappearing. I have done the usual checks etc.......

• No mayo on the oil filler cap
• No signs of leaks
• Footwells completely dry (Heater Matrix)

The coolant needs to be topped up about every three months but no more than between the min and max mark.

I only thing I could think of was that the expansion tank cap needed replacing. When I did take the cap off and put the cap down, coolant dribbled out from inside the cap from the rim at the top. I went to my local LR dealer who informed me that they no longer stock the small caps anymore because they were causing the expansion bottles to crack and I would therefore need to replace the bottle to accomodate this new cap.

Therefore, do you think my diagnosis is about right and do you know where I can purchase a small expansion bottle cap?

Cheers.

teedee4 said:

Hi all,

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teedee4 said:

I have a 2001 TD4 and my coolant appears to be disappearing. I have done the usual checks etc.......

My coolant bottle was replaced under warranty, I thought it might be a recall. Bear in mind with this weather the coolant will be a little low after an overnight stop. I find I top up with a little coolant once a year at this time.

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since you've checked the obvious i guess your options are,
1) change the expansion bottle to eliminate it and it's cap, but it may not be that, or
2) have the system pressure tested and see what they find.

get yourself down the breakers yard & check out if any other cap or tank fit before you splash the cash on new stuff

failing that check & top up as needed till u get sorted

edge said:

get yourself down the breakers yard & check out if any other cap or tank fit before you splash the cash on new stuff

failing that check & top up as needed till u get sorted

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If yu wanna fuk it completely - the caps are designed to release at a particular setting and are peculier to Hippoos.
Wot happens if yu get a hippoo one from a breaker and its no better - how yu gonna check if that one was defective. Its a common problem - go buy a noo one, but get a pressure test first , coz the bottle is prone to cracking anorl.

header tank cracks around screw thread on top. fine normally, but once it's up to pressure and hot, cracks open up and let steam out.

fair comment I bow to your wisdom MHM

Also,

the O-ring gasket/seal on the Thermostat housing down by the water pump tends to develop a leak.

Usually accompanied by squeaking from the auxiliary belt as the water drips on it

Right bugger to get at, but can be sorted in the relative short/medium term with modern Synthetic Sealant additive to the coolant

Worked for me and still good 18 months later

Risky! :decision:

The Mad Hat Man said:

Risky! :decision:

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Ye, but was recommended by LR Indy

I used their stuff, coz I couldn't find any on sale -

DO NOT use Radweld or Bars Leaks

I maintain yu got 3 choices...

1) it works.
2) it dont work.
3) it ****s the engine.

thats a 2-1 chance it aint gonna be any better. Do the job proper and yu know its gonna work and no chance of screwing yo injun.

The Mad Hat Man said:

I maintain yu got 3 choices...

1) it works.
2) it dont work.
3) it ****s the engine.

thats a 2-1 chance it aint gonna be any better. Do the job proper and yu know its gonna work and no chance of screwing yo injun.

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raise:

back to the cap problem if you buy one make sure its rated for your motor you need to quote the vin Number to get the right pressure.
the pressure is shown on the cap itself somtimes in psi somtimes in kilopascals
(Kpa.)
they are only a few quid on line

In conclusion then, get a pressure test done to find out wtf is wrong with it, then fix it properly, fix it once!

Bought a new expansion bottle and cap for my V6 ages ago, think it cost £12.
Was loosing water from thermostat housing and associated piework and elbow. Cured it with radweld for about 2 years before I got round to changing them when I replaced the timing belts. ( meant to do it earlier but whilst it wasn't leaking I kept forgetting/couldn't be bothered to do it.)