steam from under the hood- help

I took the car to specialist last week.
Left the car for a few hours to have an inspection. After i pick up the car, as i get on the driveway at home steam starts to come from under the bonnet.

I am on walking sticks so i call the rac who turn up a few hours later.

The middle container was empty and the valve had popped up. He fills it with water and says he suspects gasket issue.

Left it for a few days and checked it today, the water got a little murky but had not dropped. I drove it a few miles and steam started to appear from under the bonnet again.

I had been driving it with no issue for the last 3 weeks prior to taking it to garage last week. Could they have left a hose or something unplugged ?

Any ideas on what it could be or how to solve it ?
Thank you in advance

What work did they do?

Water ingress in the boot. They said it was the seal around the rear door and it needs a new one

They said they checked the belts and gave it a general inspection under the car

Keep an eye on the coolant level, but if it keeps going down, then there's a leak.
Where is the steam coming from?
The thermostat is a common leak point, which allows the coolant level to fall, at which point the head gaskets fail, as they don't tolerate low coolant, not even for a few seconds.

Nodge68 said:

Keep an eye on the coolant level, but if it keeps going down, then there's a leak.
Where is the steam coming from?
The thermostat is a common leak point, which allows the coolant level to fall, at which point the head gaskets fail, as they don't tolerate low coolant, not even for a few seconds.

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It appears on the drivers side under the bonnet when driving. Other than that i cant tell, Is it worth running the engine with the bonnet up to see where the steam is originating?

Do you think they did something at the garage ? I can't prove anything but everything was fine during the prior 3 weeks i had the car.

I see you have the 2.5 have you checked for crazing to the reservoir coolant tank, as the cap failed, also as above look into the V to see if the thermostat is leaking most of the time its the seals they go flat over time, as opposed to the thermostat failing, but most people change out the whole thermostat.

As it was checked it could be reservoir cap or bottle. I found my steam source by running it at night and using torch that would light up the steam.

James Pond said:

Is it worth running the engine with the bonnet up to see where the steam is originating?

Click to expand...

Yes, and remove the engine cover if you can too, although the intake pipes are a pain to get back on.

Mobile Mechanic came over this morning and did some tests . He said its the expansion tank that is leaking, How much would something like that cost including parts?

He will text me later with a price

Thanks for the advice as always
JP

New tank £15 fitting about 15 mins.

James Pond said:

How much would something like that cost including parts?

Click to expand...

£30 fitted.

As above if you are ok with the spanner this is most likely a job you could do your self, mobile mechanic will maybe charge you around £60 including the part, if anymore refuse to take him up on it, and look else where.

Crazing around the top of the tank.
1

Remove the top hose from the tank.
2

Clamp the bottom hose on the tank, suck out the coolant, or remove hose and catch any coolant in a container.
3

Remove the tank fit the new one, re-fit the hoses, top up the tank.
4

5

Remove the bottom hose clamp and run the engine, check the level again a top up to max, let engine tick over until hot refit the cap, open the heater and check again.





LAND ROVER FREELANDER 1 RADIATOR COOLANT EXPANSION BOTTLE TANK & CAP - PCF000012 | eBay