Freelanders last breath......

So I got this over 5 years ago for something like £600 (cant recall) I have not spent a penny on it and it’s done its duty well, it only gets used twice to three times a week, only gets driven by my aged farther and only has to travel 2 miles at 15 mph. It’s had a blown head gasket all this time and you just top it up before the two mile journey ! However it’s now ****sing water out and you have to stop 3-4 times and understandably it’s just to much of a faff for the old man. It’s a shame to think that this is it.... it always starts on the first turn and has virtually no rust and I live right by the sea ! I live on an island and there are no MOT requirements as it’s private land. I am a good (Bush Machanic) but don’t like to delve inside engines unless I am under duress. I feel like this car owes me nothing and I owe it nothing so maybe it’s time we just went our separate ways.

WHATS YOUR ADVICE
1. Give it away to someone who wants it
2. Sell it for scrap
3, strap a 200 litre water tank to the roof like its own personal drip and just keep chugging along......
4. Invest time and money I don’t have into it
5. Are there any other options. ?

I now drive down two to three times a week to pick them up in my 1986 defender so it’s not an essential car.... but wanted to see what your opinions were before going for option 2

Thanks for your time

Cpd

That's an unusual story

As you say the head gasket has gone, does that mean its the 1.8 petrol engine?

Is it the HG thats got worse or is there another leak?

Sell it as spares and repairs. There still people willing to strip or use for cross country 4x4 rally.

Hay @GrumpyGel it leaks from behind one of the covers on the drivers side as seen in pic. it’s just got progressively worse from the same location.... I have not investigated ! In all honesty I don’t know what size the engine is.... never looked at the paperwork.... not even sure where the paperwork is. Photo of the cover where the water comes out below ! The engine oil shows no sign of water contamination and the water shows no sign of oil contamination so I assumed it was just a leak from the outside wall of a seal. Have I mis diagnosed this..... thanks for the help.

CPD1973 said:

it leaks from behind one of the covers on the drivers side

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It's probably the water pump, which is down that side at the back of the engine.
You're need to top up regularly has probably been the warning sign of impending seal failure.

Me, I'd fix it and keep another FL1 running.

Ok I will look into the forum and see what there is about water pump failures and see what’s involved in doing a repair ! I don’t know if I should thank you though........ will let you know after a bit more research!

It looks far to good to scrap. If you don't want to fix it, sell it to someone who will. Water pumps aren't expensive but I believe they are a bit of a pig to do. You could try what I did, stick a bottle of k seal in it to see if it stops the leak, it's not highly recommended but it's better than scrapping it.

Col

Firstly I know nowt about Freelanders, but notice the mess around your expansion tank. Your problem might simply be a split in the expansion tank under the filler cap, there is another thread near yours implying this is a known problem.

Water pump is a very common cause of leaks but fixing it does mean taking off the timing belt. If you were using the car on normal roads I'd suggest replacing the pump, timing belt and tensionor.
In your situation I'd probably buy some silicone gasket and botch it.
But I would replace the timing belt since it will be off anyway.

Alibro said:

In your situation I'd probably buy some silicone gasket and botch it.

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Is that cos the pumps are expensive, or because you love improvising

...or both!

GrumpyGel said:

Is that cos the pumps are expensive, or because you love improvisin

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It must be the latter, because pumps aren't expensive for the K series. Although adding a belt does increase the cost slightly, but not much.

I am shocked about all this talk about bodging it don't let hippo hear you say that he will have a fit

Alibro said:

In your situation I'd probably buy some silicone gasket

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Sound like the sensible approach as it would be a shame to buy parts only to find the problem was bigger...... i ŵill order a timing belt as a sign of good will ! Is there a preferred gasket silicon for this, sure you lot know a go to brand ? Thank for all the help so far, I appreciate it. Col

CPD1973 said:

Sound like the sensible approach as it would be a shame to buy parts only to find the problem was bigger...... i ŵill order a timing belt as a sign of good will ! Is there a preferred gasket silicon for this, sure you lot know a go to brand ? Thank for all the help so far, I appreciate it. Col

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No idea what is best but assume any instant gasket would do, use it along with the original gasket.

GrumpyGel said:

Is that cos the pumps are expensive, or because you love improvising

...or both!

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It's cause I'm a miserable bar steward.

If you're going to do the HG, then do it properly. You'll only find the fire rings fail after you put everything back together again. Spend an extra £40 on the latest Payen gasket, along with a water pump and timing belt. That will stop the coolant loss and give the engine a fighting chance of lasting for another few years. Bodging the HG will only end in tears after a few weeks, maybe month's.

Nodge68 said:

If you're going to do the HG, then do it properly. You'll only find the fire rings fail after you put everything back together again. Spend an extra £40 on the latest Payen gasket, along with a water pump and timing belt. That will stop the coolant loss and give the engine a fighting chance of lasting for another few years. Bodging the HG will only end in tears after a few weeks, maybe month's.

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Agree 100%, A HG kit from someone like dmgrs will be good quality and save the grief of having to redo the work because of cheap inferior parts.
The bodging I was talking about was only if the issue is a leaky water pump seal. Even then it will only cost a hundred quid or so to do the job properly with a new water pump, belt and tensioner.
If you have loads of time and don't mind redoing a job then bodge away. If your busy and time is important then replace the parts with new.

I would like to find out what the problem is first, I feel confident that I can follow the online instructions for dealing with the water pump. If this is where the leak is then grand, I will replace the parts ( belt, tensioner and pump) and feel like I have had a serious “win” as a few days ago i was ready to walk away from the car. This is not a top priority job but I HATE to be so wasteful as to abandon a car that has served me my well for nearly six years and not cost me a penny. However this is used by my dad when he comes to visit and help me on this little island and at the end of the day it’s only a 20 min drive to pick him up so no major problem if the car is out of action as I have the 1986 defender, a quad bike and if all things go to hell I can commandeer the other half’s SURF as its me that keeps this fleet of rust running. My daily schedule is frantic and I just don’t feel confident tackling the head gasket if this turns out to be the problem, and I don’t want to be in a situation where I have the car in bits and fail to put it back together again, I am then stuck with a dead car 2 miles from the ferry point and a whole bunch of hassle to get rid of it. At the moment it starts and drives just fine, you just got to pour lots of water in... but I can still drive it to the ferry, load it on, drive it off and someone could then take it away from the mainland carpark, all with minimal hassle. If I had more time, better facilities as in a garage (this is the west coast of Scotland and it rains all the time) and less fear of delving inside engines then I am sure it’s something I would want to do. As i said I will willingly look at the water pump and see if this is the problem. Thanks col

CPD1973 said:

As i said I will willingly look at the water pump and see if this is the problem.

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I suspect that the only problem is a leaking water pump. Replacement will cure the coolant loss, without messing with the head gasket at all.