Cold start, now overheating.

Hi All,
Frosty night last night so when I started the Freelander this morning it made a horrible crunching sound, but it did start first time. Left it running whilst I scraped the windows. When I got in it and drove off there was still a slight crunching noise from the drivers side of the engine. Went 2 miles, not over 30mph. Parked for 1 hour, drove back the same but noticed there was no heat from the heaters then the the gauge went to the top and the fan kicked in. This has never happened before. Head gasket replaced in July, new clutch September, other niggly problems but nothing drastic. Could someone please post any ideas as to what the problem might be and if I carry on using it will I make it worse.
Thanks in advance.

has it iced up, is the antifreez ok ?

I ''assumed'' that the anti freeze level would have been sorted when the head gasket was fixed, but knowing the garage I'm not so sure now. Would the heat from the engine block not melt any ice if there was any? Is there anything I could check to see?
Thanks.

any Antifreeze - let alone is it ok!

look at the coolant - is it just water - or any colour with it - red/blue/yellow?
If no colour , dip yo finger in it and taste it - antifreeze is bitter to the taste. dont drink too much coz it makes ya mad.


mind yu - if there aint any antifreeze in there - fink yu will be mad enuf as it is.

Coolant slightly brown, not sure about tasting it though. Could this be a major problem if I have run it and it was iced up?

Sounds like a mangled water pump, its on the drivers side.

The brown sounds like corrosion/rust, likely culprit the water pump. Did it 'squeek' in the last few weeks

Place some concentrated coolant in the water bottle, if it disperses on idle then your pump is fine.

There is a quick test you can do for the water pump on other k-series, a nice turbulent flow of coolant back into the reservoir, but not the Hippo.

brown sounds like rust - yu only need to dip yo finger in it - if it tastes like rusty water - get yo cheque book out.

blown core plugs/cracked block/split radiator - list is (almost) endless

if the cooling water had started to ice, it would cause all sorts of problems, your water pump would be trying to pump ice, and very little or no circulation would take place,ie overheating depending on the severity of the iceing ,

looking on the worst case , cracked engine block or split rad, you might be lucky but get it checked for peace of mind

Just been out and started it. Heater working normally, starts ok, no sign of leaks or anything. I have noticed a gurgling sound behind the dash and a tapping when I press the accelerater. Also the expansion tank isn't getting hot even though the engine ran for 10 minutes.

The gurgling is the sound of air/coolant mix going through the heater matrix.

You have an airlock in there, you'll have to bleed the heater matrix, the valve is on the hose going into the bulkhead (Passenger side).

Whats the oil look like?

Just had it looked at by the mechanic. Absolutely no anti freeze in it whatsoever. No obvious damage and everything seems to be working ok. Getting sorted tomorrow. A very lucky escape. Thanks to all who replied.

Hopefully not the mechanic who neglected to stick in antifreeze in the first place

suggest yu stamp heavily on those that did yo HGF - their pennypinching cud have cost yu a new injun!

No, this is the mechanic who does everything properly and is straight. There's not many of them about, unfortunately. The other works for the garage who sold me the car in the first place. I have had a lot of trouble with them and the car. They even replaced the tail door handle with glue when one of the bolts had snapped. So far I have managed to claim back most of the costs I have incurred in the 5 months since I bought it. My first, and last Freelander. Hopefully replacing it end of January, early February. Don't know what with yet though.

good to know you escaped a very expensive repair bill,

this is a lesson to those who rely on so called mecanics to do the work on their motors, a few basic checks can save a small fortune, how many people ever bother to lift the bonnet and have a check around the engine bay ?

a lot of cars are almost maintenance free between servicing, it lulls you into a false sense of security , dont get caught out

i check stuff every week due to all the probs posted in here,

don't want to risk leaving it to chance, can't afford to either.

Haynes manuals could also save a lot of money if you don't mind getting hands dirty.