losing water also power steering fluid is milkshake

hi all,this is for my mum,just rescued her car out of the steelers before they started work she has an 03 plate freelander and seems to have developed a coolent leak from somwhere so she has to keep topping up,also i had quick look and see that power steering fluid has gone all milkshake/mayonaise ,
the steelers tryed saying suspected head gasket which i doubt very much as water is clear and oil is fine ,

thanks

wot injun has she?

hi she has a v6 petrol

V6's are renown for HGF , as bad as the 1.8K, so my initial reaction would also be HGF - you dont always get mayo in the water or water in the oil either . but if the PAS fluid looks like Mayo, it would appear that water is ending up in there, not sure how tho .

Same symptoms as my 1.8 petrol...head gasket...deffo

yer but surly head gasket failiue means oil and water mixing together,hence gasket seal between oil and water , as i have had one before on another make car ,but maybe freelanders are different beasts

have to agree with the other guys, had exactly same problem it was HGF. I paid 450 for job, that was including hose modification. Shop around and sadly you have joined the HGF club.

Yup sound likes the dreaded HGF. I had it happen on my MGF - with the 1.8 K series engine they fit to the landy. £450 for skimmed head, new gasket and change of cam belt. Was still going strong 20K later when I sold it. That was just at my local garage - not sure if costs might be slightly more for the V6. There is a modified gasket I believe which might improve things.

Not sure why you are getting the "milk" in PAS fluid as I don't believe the systems are connected. The two bottles are close together - PAS is the smaller of the two and coolant is the larger bottle (at least on my TD4).

My V6 was losing water out of the 'O' rings on the thermostat housing and water pump. Check this thread www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/coolant-loss-x-1-expansion-bottle-per-week-47656-2.html

yup - common prob on KV6's - as is the shearing of the thermostat housing pipes.

Foamy PAS fluid is typically air in the system - possibly from valve unbalanced in the PAS box - suggest you speak to a PAS expert - call 020 8853 3343 (power steering services) and ask for Alan - they come highly recommended.

If there is a mix of ATF (tranny fluid) and any power steering fluid together they'll turn milky. Doesn't take much ATF to do it either.

sticks said:

yer but surly head gasket failiue means oil and water mixing together,hence gasket seal between oil and water

Click to expand...

Not always.

It is a sign of HGF, but the lack of that sign does not mean it hasn't failed.

water loss could be from the pressure cap on expansion tank. They have been known to fail meaning an escape of coolent and steam. its hard to see if it is leaking but hey at 4 quid for a new one its worth a try before you replace HG.

Early freelanders had expansion tanks that cracked around the cap. The new ones have larger caps. They are cheap to buy, even from a main dealer.