Could it be the heater ???

Hi guys, just been following the threads about D2's losing their coolant and someone mentioned that it could be the heater leaking and a sign would be water in the passenger front. Well, well, my wife complained that she felt water down there so I reckon that's where I should start checking first. Err...what shall I check for and how accessible is the heater unit? Any idea's ?

Cheers

Alex

Hi Alex, I,v got a disco 1, and just replaced the heater, your motor is not much different and it is no easy job to someone who is not used to fixing/tinkering with motors.
it involves taking out the whole dashboard, centre console etc, steering wheel, clocks, the lot, so!! before you get disheartened lift your bonnet and down the nearside rear of your engine you should have 2 rubber pipes going into your passenger compartment, check that the jubilee clips are tight and that the pipes are not perrished and of course that they are dry, if you find they are in fact dry you may not need to go the heater way as it is a good element and should not leak under normal use.
Its too long a job to describe here, but get a haynes manual if you want to go the stripout way, this is what i did. tony.

Thanks for the tip, I'll have a look when it stops raining. Do you think that it'd possible to lose so much water from the heater - roughly 2 litres ? My speed can suddenly drop quite alot which now happens quite frequently. Also my thermostat frequently drops in the blue causing my red warning light to come on- it stays in the middle for quite a while then drops immediately. Plus drops of water in the passenger side. Weird stuff !

This is my plan of Action:

1) Check pipes/hoses to heater
2) Check hoses from radiator for signs of leaking (can I undo the plastic housing around the top half of the engine without doing damage ?)
3) Pressure check system (will a local garage be able to do this ?)
4) replace fuel filter, & air filter
5) Have I got it right, not sure what to do next ???

Any ideas ?

Alex

Alex, as a temp fix try some radweld or K seal (Ebay). This might fix a small hole. Mine was loosing coolant and it finally failed on the way back from Driffield. Looks like fan damage on the Rad from the previous owner.

MRDIITD5 said:

Alex, as a temp fix try some radweld or K seal (Ebay). This might fix a small hole. Mine was loosing coolant and it finally failed on the way back from Driffield. Looks like fan damage on the Rad from the previous owner.

Click to expand...

Before ye do Alex, might want to try a search for radweld on here just to see what it can actually seal!!!

i,ve had success with k-seal cured head gasket on me old v8 disco
were,nt cheap at the time thou

Before you start rolling around on the floor of the landie, check what the water is. I assume you have antifreeze in the system, so if it's leaking into the footwell it will be same, smell it or stick your finger in it and taste it just in case it is rainwater.

Lift the bonnet run the engine on fast idle for a bit until it's well heated then look, lay under it and look, must be traces of it somewhere, water pump, look through the grille for the front of the radiator, and so on.