help needed im out of ideas!! re; overheating

hey folks,
im having problems with my freelander overheating, it is a 1.8 1999 freelander (k-series) with 50k on the clock. i bought the car as a winter run arround but have had nothing but problems since. (good old land rover)
firstly the head gasket went on xmas day, so replaced the headgasket with an mls kit, (engine block was in good condition) as well as a timing belt change all other belts and water pump. However after about 60 miles of doing this the engine started overheating.. so, replaced the theromstat (located at the rear of the engine) and blead the system, however....its still overheating. does anybody have any ideas. the expansion chamber does leak slightly through the cap when it gets hot will this really help it if i change the cap,
many thanks
martyn

You have bought a ****ing lemon.

get it to a garage and get them to put gas analyzer in the header tank and see if theres any hc in the cooling system, sounds ver much like a gasket failure

and what storm says

leg oot the bed said:

get it to a garage and get them to put gas analyzer in the header tank and see if theres any hc in the cooling system, sounds ver much like a gasket failure

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HC?? prob have got a lemon, freelander itself is in good nick probs started after me doing about 2k in it. i would be amazed if it was a gasket failure all gaskets were done about 60 miles ago and as soon as the engine has stated overheating iv stopped and let it cool before carrying on. no signs of water in the oil either oil looks new (as it would for 60 miles)

Was the head skimmed after the last HGF?

hc = hydrocarbons, have you bled the cooling system correctly

storm99 said:

Was the head skimmed after the last HGF?

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no it wasnt. it didnt need doing did the good old test with a straight edge and a torch. no signs of bowing. (no light got through)

leg oot the bed said:

hc = hydrocarbons, have you bled the cooling system correctly

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what do you class as the correct way??? pretty sure i have just want to check how you do it.

my point exactly on another thread if you had spent 30 quid on skimming it wouldnt be a factor in your problem,

leg oot the bed said:

my point exactly on another thread if you had spent 30 quid on skimming it wouldnt be a factor in your problem,

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my dad was a mechanic for years i got him to have a look and he felt it was fine. so took his advice. hes not let me down before

See here.

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/po264-po302-fault-codes-v6-coolant-bleeding-110649.html

put a 2-3 litres in header run it at 1500 ish rpm untill all pipes are hot and cooling fan comes on heaters should blow hot and all pipes and radiator should be hot with no cold spots this should be done with lid off header tank when fan runs and switches off it should be bled, sometimes need to top up as water finds its way around system but dont overfill header during bleeding, when you believe its bled let it cool and top up to level, just thought is it possible that you can fit the thermostat the wrong way or it is faulty?

good link storm

ill attempt bleeding it again. new thermostat went in the same way as the old one came out so pretty sure thats right. thanks for the help guys ill let you know how i go on. hopefully this time it will be fixed!!!

hey guys, still having probs with the freelander. has anybody had a mls gasket failure? or a faulty gasket. im thinking of changing it as cannot think of anything else it could be. to recap on whats been done.
headgasket blew, replaced with MLS gasket. new waterpump timing belt +other belts fitted. engine cleaned up, engine block deemed to be level. rebuilt, engine run fine for 60ish miles. started to overhead with a loss of water. changed the thermostat. no change. thermostat tested with no problems. had the cooling system off, cleaned piping and flushed the radiatior. sytem bled. (correctly) still overheating. the car is loosing water everytime its ran. approx 300 mls ? through leakage from the expansion tank cap and steam. no signs of it in the oil or oil in the water. all pipes that should be hot are hot and all that should be cool are cool. heating works fine. does anybody have any other ideas or do it look like i may have a faulty gasket?? thanks martyn

Always pressure test AND crack test the head, otherwise you are wasting your time completely. Skimming it is pointless unless the head is OK.

tis probably a cracked head,

if you say the block was level ,do you mean the liners do not stand proud of the block by at least 4 thou, and preferably more

looking like a new cylinder head then!!
Cant fail on fixing it now, its become a project and an obsession. its only a second car so gets done as and when.