TD5 fuel in Coolant????

Does anyone here know of a landrover that has cracked the head in such a way that the fuel is getting into the coolant? I know a failed fuel cooler can do this but it has been bypassed. I know they suffer from fuel getting in the oil but have never heard of it getting into the coolant.

ratty said:

Does anyone here know of a landrover that has cracked the head in such a way that the fuel is getting into the coolant? I know a failed fuel cooler can do this but it has been bypassed. I know they suffer from fuel getting in the oil but have never heard of it getting into the coolant.

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bloody hell mate must be seriuos if yer asking on here about td5 stuff !

buckshot said:

bloody hell mate must be seriuos if yer asking on here about td5 stuff !

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Due to the lack of pressure in the system I think it's waterpump gone weak.

Because I still have oil clinging to the inside of the heater matrix from before I bought it I have oil in the coolant. Not an issue cos I know about it. The fuel cooler is bypassed and the max fuel temp I've acheived is 69 degs. At no point has the landy overheated. DV rekoned he could smell denzel in the coolant. I can't decide wether it's cos of the fuel cooler fault or it's the oil heated up or if there actually is fuel getting into the coolant. Thats the reason for this post.

I just wondered if anyone else has known of fuel getting into the coolant other than via the fuel cooler.

Can you not fit the fuel to air heat exchanger that is used on a Freelander L series, or would that be too embarrassing??

Darmain said:

Can you not fit the fuel to air heat exchanger that is used on a Freelander L series, or would that be too embarrassing??

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I'm looking into that at the moment. The cooler itself should fit between the grille and the radiator ok. Routing the pipes is the more challenging bit. My concern at the second is that I may be getting diesel into my coolant with the fuel cooler already bypassed. There is no pressure at all in the coolant system. I'm gonna fit a new waterpump (and thermostat while I'm at it) and then go from there.

Where the fuel rail runs through the head I just wondered if anyone had ever heard of the fuel rail cracking and leaking into the coolant rather than the sump. I've never come across it but just want to be sure.

Seems unlikely as if your fuel rail was loosing pressure due to a leak then surely the engine wouldn't run well.

Are you loosing coolant because if you had a coolant / fuel breech then the fuel would go to the coolant and pressurise the cooling system. The fuel pressure would be massive in comparison to the cooling system(?).

If in doubt it looks like a head pressure test job.

Good luck.

Darmain said:

Seems unlikely as if your fuel rail was loosing pressure due to a leak then surely the engine wouldn't run well.

Are you loosing coolant because if you had a coolant / fuel breech then the fuel would go to the coolant and pressurise the cooling system. The fuel pressure would be massive in comparison to the cooling system(?).

If in doubt it looks like a head pressure test job.

Good luck.

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Thats what I can't understand.

When I first got the landy it was building up huge pressure. I had the HG sorted last october. It was still getting fuel into the coolant up until I bypasssed the fuel cooler.

Ever since the HG was done I have had difficulty getting it to 82 degs+. In the cold spell even with the rad muff on I only managed to get 84 degs. (even with a new waterpump).

2 weeks ago I had a loss of power. (limp mode). At no point have I had any overheating. It did get up to 94 degs but that isn't exactly high in my opinion. After that it has stayed between 79 and 86 at all times. On saturday it was in and out of limp mode all day but never overheated once.

There is oil getting in the header tank but due to the amount that was in the heater matrix I'm not worried.

My personal thinking is that the waterpump has gone weak. I also think that the smell of diesel could be down to the previous fuel cooler problem. I will sling a new pump on as I have one in the landy and for peace of mind I'll replace the thermostat cos they often go.

If it turns out it is the HG I'll get it sorted under warranty. (The Engineer was meant to have fitted the waterpump when he did the HG but forgot).

The fact that nobody has replied with a way it can happen is reassuring.

have yu tried using liquid dishwasher liquid!!! to clean out the oil from the cooling system. it is meant to be very effective - or Wynns?

The Mad Hat Man said:

have yu tried using liquid dishwasher liquid!!! to clean out the oil from the cooling system. it is meant to be very effective - or Wynns?

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Yep. It was like a gunked up egr valve in the heater matrix. the oil had gradually been decreasing. Now the temp is a bit higher it is melting more so it's coming back.

Will be interesting to know what you find when the stat comes out. Could it be stuck open so over cooling the engine? If your pump was weak then the engine wouldn't cool well and the coolant pressure should go high, not low, even if the guage shows low temp. Hope its an easy one. Good luck, Dave

Darmain said:

Will be interesting to know what you find when the stat comes out. Could it be stuck open so over cooling the engine? If your pump was weak then the engine wouldn't cool well and the coolant pressure should go high, not low, even if the guage shows low temp. Hope its an easy one. Good luck, Dave

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They're a twin valve thermostat.

The one thats temp operated and another that operates by the suction of the waterpump at 1500rpm. If I stay below 50mph all is fine. If I go above it then it does blow water out the expansion cap. No overheating though and if I squeeze any pipes there's no pressure. No pressure when releasing the cap either. I rekon the water pump is working but weak.

ratty said:

They're a twin valve thermostat.

The one thats temp operated and another that operates by the suction of the waterpump at 1500rpm.

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I gather this is to stop the engine loosing heat when idling. My FL1 has this problem. When I've stopped somewhere with the heater going and have left the engine idling, the coolant temperature drops right down. Without the heater it stays at the normal position.

The fact you've got no coolant pressure, yet the engine is hot, suggests the cooling system is venting somewhere doesn't it. Would have though you would be smelling Glycol. Mine gives me that pleasure. Got a coolant leak somewhere but only very slight. Will have to trace it sooner or later. Suspect the pump also.

ratty said:

They're a twin valve thermostat.

The one thats temp operated and another that operates by the suction of the waterpump at 1500rpm. If I stay below 50mph all is fine. If I go above it then it does blow water out the expansion cap. No overheating though and if I squeeze any pipes there's no pressure. No pressure when releasing the cap either. I rekon the water pump is working but weak.

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I had similar a problem with the expansion cap letting off pressure if I drove at 70 for any length of time - this was after the water pump had been replaced. I changed the thermostat and fitted a new expansion tank cap and it's been fine since.

I bought a new radiator cap, temp sensor, thermostat and a tube of instant gasket (indy parts specialist didn't have the rotary filter housing gasket) for changing my water pump.

Fitted the expansion cap straight away. That sorted the lack of pressure in the system. The old cap was only 8 months old

Still losing power though

Fitted the temp sensor on my way home. That sorted the loss of power/limp mode. The old sensor was only 5 months old

Still got a slight overboost problem causing a partial limp mode if full throttle at too higher revs. I suspect that the wastegate is sticking a bit due to water ingress from wading (my steering has also started getting stiff again after the Dorset recce).

Looks like I'll be re-lubing my steering u/j's and wastegate in the rain tomorrow.

No sign of any diesel getting into the coolant. I rekon what was smelt during the last laning trip was the residue of the fuel cooler fault.

Have decided that I'm gonna keep a spare thermostat, water pump, temp sensor and expansion cap onboard from now on. This can accompany my full set of spare coolant hoses.

I feckin hates TD5's. Anyone wanna swap a 300tdi for a TD5?

So what do you make of the water pump now? Glad to here its on the mend now.

shirley the parts should be under warranty if they are less than 12 months old
always a bit iffy i think not buying genuine parts

Darmain said:

So what do you make of the water pump now? Glad to here its on the mend now.

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Without the expansion cap holding pressure the waterpump isn't able to create the vacuum it needs to move the water around the system properly. Most water pumps 'pump' water. TD5's suck it instead. The pressure created by the suction is what opens the valve on the thermostat and draws the coolant around the system.

buckshot said:

shirley the parts should be under warranty if they are less than 12 months old
always a bit iffy i think not buying genuine parts

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Yep. They should be under warranty. £4 for a expansion cap and £16 for the temp sensor.

There's a guy on ebay I noticed that's selling temp sensors at £5 inc postage. At that price I'm thinking about getting an emergency spare from him. The original cap was missing when I bought the landy and the 2 I've bought have been different and are different again from the landrover original ones. Next time I'm passing a main dealer I'll get a genuine cap and use the one I've just bought as a apare.

I bought the cap and expansion tank from famous four. I bought em both at the same time to make sure that they matched. Just shows how crucial a £4 part can be.

On the plus side my heater now works much better due to the amount of oil flushed out the cooling system.