Help! - have I broken it?

I have mentioned in other threads that my disco has a habit of the water level dropping over a couple of months. I went to Bangor today (25 miles) and on the way back the temp slowly climbed to the top of the normal sector of the gauge. I was about to pull over and phone for my son to come out to me with water when the needle dropped back to about 1/3. I kept my eye on it and it didnt go above 1/2. When I got back I opened the bonnet and it looked and smelt hot. There was vapour coming off the engine from the oil leaks. I left it a while to cool then filled it up at the radiator plug, then the plug at the top near the water pump then the expansion tank. It took about a gallon of water!

How accurate is the gauge? If the water is that low that theres no water passing the sender is it still accurate?

There was no steam coming out of the bonnet so I am hoping I was lucky this time!


JR

Sticking thermostat?

Any idea where the water's going? Oil ok, not creamy?

Will have a better look tomorrow. Just noticed while parking her up that theres a trail of water or is that the overflow? I did fill it right up. There is no sign of water in oil or vice versa.

revjames said:

Will have a better look tomorrow. Just noticed while parking her up that theres a trail of water or is that the overflow? I did fill it right up. There is no sign of water in oil or vice versa.

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Keep calm, pray a little (God drives a Landy of course) and order a new thermostat.

But a continual slight loss of coolant can be troublesome because one tends to top up with just water, and so eventually the anti-freeze and anti-corrosion is diluted clean away.

Take care ...

CharlesY

if the water level in the block drops too low ie below the sensor the gauge reading will drop back to normal or lower while you engine slowly cooks its self!

if the temp gauge reads hot thats the time to take action not when it falls back to normal!

I had the same trouble on my digger Err i mean farrari slow water loss can cause more damage than it dumping the lot on the floor in one go!

Well, there doewsnt seem to be any damage thankfully. However on closer inspection it seems like the header tank has failed. I put my mouth on the opening and blew and water was coming out of ther seam. Scrapyard price £15+Vat new price £20 including Vat. New one ordered hopefully the end of the problem.

revjames said:

Well, there doewsnt seem to be any damage thankfully. However on closer inspection it seems like the header tank has failed. I put my mouth on the opening and blew and water was coming out of the seam. Scrapyard price £15+Vat new price £20 including Vat. New one ordered hopefully the end of the problem.

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Job Done!

Thus proving there is a God after all.

Buy the new one of course?

Meantime keep an eye on the temperature anyway just in case the thermostat is dodgy as well.

CharlesY

I think I will take the opportunity when fitting the new tank to drain the system completely and re fill with the correct ratio of antifreeze and water which is????? anyone care to enlighten me?

Hi m8 its a 50/50 mix

may be the seem has gone gos of over presher id still keep an eye on it may not be the cors mate

killnorton said:

may be the seem has gone gos of over presher id still keep an eye on it may not be the cors mate

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I thought about that, but there has never been enough pressure to even give the slightest hiss when you take the cap off. I even replaced the cap thinking it might be faulty. No sign of bubbles or anything when the cap is off so I am assuming its not a pressurising problem.

Thanks BLASER according to Mr Haynes that will mean about 6L of antifreeze then. Hopefully it'll stay inside this time!

Would you believe it I got the expansion tank today, fitted it drained the system and refilled with mix of water amnd antifreeze. Put the cap on and it wouldnt fit! about 2mm wider in diameter than the thread on the bottle. I wasnt sure if there was a later cap with a smaller thread but I don't think so. The thread on the old tank is 52mm and the new one 50mm. The cap wont thread on and I imagine if it develops any pressure it will just pop off. Grrrrrrrr

Just got the cap, postal strike held things up. Fair play to LR spares in Liverpool, I told them the problem and they sent me one out free. Didnt get it due to postal strike so they sent another one special delivery. The funny thing is, the old cap fits the old tank but is too loose to fit the new tank. The new cap fits the old one and the new one???

Anyway, at last I now have a pressurised cooling system and get a reassuring hisss when I take the cap off.

hows the temp been an a distance? be harder to tell now the weather is cooler, what bangor from you? 20 odd mile? also what engine is it cause my 200tdi bearly gets warm unless am gunning it.

Bangor is 20 miles, just been this evening. Steady 65 or so, warmed up within 2 miles. Temp sat at about 1/3 most of the time. Marginally more at times never more than 1/2 way. Sounds like you have no thermostat or stuck open.

nah thermostat works fine, just cold temp and high speed on little throtle does the trick. same on my 19td pug which i done the head on.
wasnt saying yours was diff from the norm but was just curious.

It does take a lot to get these hot. 12L coolant capacity means theres lots in reserve. When mine got a little warm recently with the coolant loss from the expansion tank, I must have put over a gallon in to fill her up again.

thats a fair bit like lol mines like a half a kettle every thousand, sorry for baffling you with an acurate measurement there lol