Freelander 1 V6 Cooling Pipes

New V6, new thread !
Today had some time to look at my bargain V6 purchase - 2000 MY.
Bought with a 'cooling problem' the PO explained that a 'hose shot off' and since then has been using coolant.
Garage reported to him "it's probably the head gasket caused by overheating".
I lifted the bonnet and could smell coolant so figured it was a leak somewhere and snapped it up !

Filled reservoir with water and drove gently 4 miles home, no problems on run. Used about 1/2 inch of water.
No water in oil or vice versa.

Firstly, the car has had a replacement thermostat around 18 months ago. The work was not done very tidily and had several main arteries cut and joined in the process, together with lost screws and clips.
Closer inspection revealed pink water in the 'V' - aha - thermostat or elbow pipe or seals I thought.

Whilst engine was ticking over and while I set up my flexi camera to inspect the thermostat, there was a load pop and hose popped off !! Coolant everywhere. The joint in question is the one circled in yellow where the top hose 'T' connects.

So, I have a dilema:
Is it a perished pipe not tightened up and just slipping off?
Is there a block in the system causing abnormal pressure?
Is the water in the 'V' actually from the burst, not from the stat at all?

Further tests with water refilled when cool, clamp fitted securely, show that the water flows out of the bleed o.k. The interior heater gets hot o.k. The top hose gets hot and bottom hose remains cold even with the temp gauge on 'N' and having driven a few miles to warm it up properly.

I'm thinking, bad pipe connection was weeping hence the water loss, but is it also a blocked rad or naff water pump or stuck thermostat? I am assuming any of these would cause a high temp gauge, but this may not be the case.
See photos below. All suggestions much appreciated.


Note the red circles, cut and repaired breather hose, cut and repaired fuel pipe, missing bolts on pipe retainer at rear of engine meaning the top engine cover was only secured at the front !

I'd be sacking a mechanic that put it back like that. All to be replaced after the cooling problem is solved.
Pipe bodge 1
Pipe bodge 2
Let's just leave the engine cover mount and pipes flapping in the wind, they'll be fine !

Replaced the T joint which turned out to be fractured and the rib that is supposed to hold the pipe was missing. Fitted a metal T joint, refilled with bleed open and ran up to temp.

Very hot top hose and cold bottom hose. No visible leaks.
Ran it with top off coolant tank to get temperature of water up.
Fans ran, still cold bottom hose.

Only thing that is not right otherwise is a sucking noise in the engine V after switching off so some possible air leak here, no visible water though.

Shouldn't start open before fans come on??

Any other tests to confirm start is stuck or another block exists?

Interior heater works fine, top hose goes very hard when hot, impossible to squash by hand.

All ideas much appreciated.

First and easy option, run until hot with the cap off, put the cap back on and keep and eye on the temp. See if pressure builds, but don't let it boil.
It shouldn't gain much pressure at all and the pipes should stay soft

Temp never goes over 1/2 way on gauge.
Hoses go very tight when hot due to pressure.
Took it out for a thrash, rad got warm from top down and eventually bottom hose warmed up.
Now that it has all been hot and circulated I will bleed again when cool.

Noise of sucking in the engine V has also disappeared but I guess that is a slight weep somewhere as air noises don't occur for no reason!!

Will run it as it is for a bit, see how we go.
Thanks for ideas.

andyfreelandy said:

No water in oil or vice versa.

Click to expand...

That's good.

andyfreelandy said:

Temp never goes over 1/2 way on gauge.
Hoses go very tight when hot due to pressure.
Took it out for a thrash, rad got warm from top down and eventually bottom hose warmed up.
Now that it has all been hot and circulated I will bleed again when cool.

Noise of sucking in the engine V has also disappeared but I guess that is a slight weep somewhere as air noises don't occur for no reason!!

Will run it as it is for a bit, see how we go.
Thanks for ideas.

Click to expand...

It can take many heating and cooling cycles for all the air to be expelled from the V6. Its not an engine that is easy to bleed at all, which is odd as it has 3 places for air to be returned to the tank.

All seems to be OK, will keep an eye on water level.

Bleed it again a few times just in case!

Thanks.