New FreeLander owner needs help please

Hi Everyone.
Last week i privately brought a freelander 2004 94000 miles td4 HSE.
I don't know much about cars at all.
When I was looking round the car I checked the water and it had orange/brown (rust colour) foam at the top of the water (i was about to and should of walked away) but i facetimed my friend who runs a garage.
He said it probably just needs flushing out and said that it doesnt look like the head gasket.
Anyone else ever seen this?
I stupidly brought it anyway. on the journey home (about an hour) i noticed the heating doesnt get very hot (it does get warm) and the temp gauge only got up to about a quarter of the way.

Anyway I thought I would have a go at flushing the cooling system. I downloaded the Rave program and thought it cant be hard.
Anyway i took the bottom hose off the radiator and all the horrible orange/brown water came out. it took a while for all the water to come out.
I tried to put more water in to the tank to flush it through but it took ages to trickle through.
After doing that for a while and the water became clearer i put the pipe back on and filled the tank and was going to fill the system and take it for a short drive to get it to temp and then do the same all over again.
But the water wasnt going down from the tank.
I unscrewed what i think is the bleed screw. at the back on a pipe going into the cabin (possibly heating)
the water started to go down in the tank and was coming out the bleed screw just as fast so i did it back up but the water stopped going down again.
I have run the car to try and get it warm to see if that would pump the water round but i ran it for over an hour and the temp guage only just got up to half way, the fans didnt kick in.

Does anyone know what is wrong with it or what I am doing wrong?
Please help and please don't tell me its the head gasket or something serious.

Did you read the section in the RAVE about coolant drain and refill?

Cheers

have you asked your friend who runs a garage and on whos advice you bought the vehicle?

neilly said:

Did you read the section in the RAVE about coolant drain and refill?

Cheers

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Yes and followed the instructions

The Mad Hat Man said:

have you asked your friend who runs a garage and on whos advice you bought the vehicle?

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Yes, he told me to run the engine until it got hot and put a crushed dish washer tablet in the water tank to see it that will flush and blockages through. Which I've tried but the after over an hour the temp gauge was only at half way and the fans hadn't kicked in.
He also said take the top and bottom hose off the radiator and try and flus water through that to see if it helps.
I haven't had a chance to try this as I ran out of light.

Matt_rayner8 said:

Yes and followed the instructions

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And did you repeat process "if warm air is not available" as described in Rave manual?

Cheers

Matt_rayner8 said:

Yes, he told me to run the engine until it got hot and put a crushed dish washer tablet in the water tank to see it that will flush and blockages through. Which I've tried but the after over an hour the temp gauge was only at half way and the fans hadn't kicked in.
He also said take the top and bottom hose off the radiator and try and flus water through that to see if it helps.
I haven't had a chance to try this as I ran out of light.

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he is an idiot then, and knows nothing about Freelanders.

I am not getting the water into the

The Mad Hat Man said:

he is an idiot then, and knows nothing about Freelanders.

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well thanks for that. Are you able to help or just here to make me feel worse?

Oh dear.
With all respect mate, give it to a garage that knows about diesel engines. Bite the bullet on the cost and put it down to experience.
Hopefully it's just clogged up and needs professionally flushing.

And don't buy that mate a Christmas card.

Mike

Matt_rayner8 said:

I am not getting the water into the

well thanks for that. Are you able to help or just here to make me feel worse?

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never put dishwasher powder or leak fixing addatives in a freelander engine. most of them have very fine waterways which are prone to blocking. Dishwasher liquid if you have tyo, but I suggest you take the car to a Freelander specialist. Where are you based?

it sounds as if your thermostat has failed and is stuck in the open position, this would explain why the temp is not rising.
Do a search on here and you'll find loads of help with a cheap fix.
The orange/brown water, was there also little pieces of copper in the water?
If there was then the previous owner has added radweld to the system and that would be for obvious reasons.

easy enough for a proper garage to check if thermostat is working properly or not

The Mad Hat Man said:

never put dishwasher powder or leak fixing addatives in a freelander engine. most of them have very fine waterways which are prone to blocking. Dishwasher liquid if you have tyo, but I suggest you take the car to a Freelander specialist. Where are you based?

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If it makes any difference I crushed up the tablet into a very fine powder.
I am based in Hampshire
GU35

Rob ed said:

it sounds as if your thermostat has failed and is stuck in the open position, this would explain why the temp is not rising.
Do a search on here and you'll find loads of help with a cheap fix.
The orange/brown water, was there also little pieces of copper in the water?
If there was then the previous owner has added radweld to the system and that would be for obvious reasons.

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Would the thermostat being stuck open stop the system from filling with water?
I have read a thermostat change is a right pain on these. But have also read people do a mod with a thermostat in one of the pipes? Is that what I should be searching for ?

Matt_rayner8 said:

If it makes any difference I crushed up the tablet into a very fine powder.
I am based in Hampshire
GU35

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a few independants around Gford. Give Keith Gott a call

@Nodge68 @Diesel Do

Matt_rayner8 said:

Would the thermostat being stuck open stop the system from filling with water?
I have read a thermostat change is a right pain on these. But have also read people do a mod with a thermostat in one of the pipes? Is that what I should be searching for ?

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The thermostat being stuck open will aid the filling process giving the water a passage through. drain it again and refill it, measure the amount you put back in as the system holds around five and half litres I think.
I've just completed the thermostat change in less than a hour, the hardest part was getting the thermostat into the hose.

Rob ed said:

The thermostat being stuck open will aid the filling process giving the water a passage through. drain it again and refill it, measure the amount you put back in as the system holds around five and half litres I think.
I've just completed the thermostat change in less than a hour, the hardest part was getting the thermostat into the hose.

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The thermostat in the hose is a mod, not the actual thermostat, that's in the engine block.
Mike

Rob ed said:

The thermostat being stuck open will aid the filling process giving the water a passage through. drain it again and refill it, measure the amount you put back in as the system holds around five and half litres I think.
I've just completed the thermostat change in less than a hour, the hardest part was getting the thermostat into the hose.

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I will drain if tomorrow and try to take the top hose off the radiator as well and then put some clean water through the top of the radiator. But my problem is getting water back into the system. I doubt I got much more tan a litre in it today.

If anyone has anything else I could try it would be appreciated?

It is possible someone's done the thermostat mod on your car, if so it will be in the pipe work at the front of the engine block. Look for a bulge in the pipe or a metal object lodged between 2 hoses.
This will stop water entering the system.

Other than that the old ways of clearing a blockage are a 'no no' on a TD4.

Search "Freelander thermostat mod" for more info and pictures.

Mike