td5 water loss

hi all
right i have a td5 discovery which is using water no signs of leakage no smoke not down on power hoses feel pressurized it needs to be topped up daily with water does this sound like headgasket also can these heads be skimmed and what is the job like to do

The head cannot be skimmed on the TD5.
Get a garage to test the coolant for the presence of exhaust gasses - usually with a gas analyser or device that changes colour - this would indicate a HG problem.

Does the oil have any mayo in it - on the dipstick?

no nothing clean as the day it was put in and nothing in water to i am thinking it is pressurizing and blowing the water out what happened is we went on holiday and did about 500 miles 1st day no problem 2nd day about 200 and all of a sudden temp gauge shot into red stopped cooled topped up did another 100 miles no problem towing then did 200 miles next day not towing checked water topped up same next day then hitched up caravan to come home did about 150 miles no problem then gauge shot up and ended up being transported home by aa now we top it up every couple of days and am about to pull the head off

gazz1969 said:

no nothing clean as the day it was put in and nothing in water to i am thinking it is pressurizing and blowing the water out

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Mine did this, gradually getting worse over a couple of months. No white smoke or other indication until the end. Was a cracked head, which unfortunately is quite common on these, especially around the no1 exhaust valve, which is where mine went. Several threads on this a month or so ago. Some say you CAN skim the head and have had it done. LR say you can't, apparently because the surface is specially treated. If it IS a crack, my mechanic does not recommend a recon, as he says they are prone to fail.
Hope it's something simpler!

head is going in to be presure tested tommorrow fingers crossed
will let you know how it went

Try Turner Engineering,they can resurface the head

I had a similiar problem with my Disco. it was the head gasket but whilest doing this noticed a leak on bottom of rad which is difficult to spot unless you remove most of the front. apparently the early ones are known for the rads leaking. easiest way to spot is by removing all the cowling, fan and other bits

I had a similar problem on my TD5. loosing water with no signs of leak or gungy oil. Had the Rad presure tested and a small leak found at the bottom. also had the water analised for gasses which was ok. Had the rad fixed under warranty and ever since no problem

From experience, it would be worth checking the fuel cooler - with a well-placed finger you can check the cooler at each end; the seals (or O rings) occasionally weep, and it is difficult to spot. In my case there was no leak when hot, but the leak occurred when the vehicle had completely cooled.