300 Tdi Water Leak

[D-Fen-Der]

Hi Guys n Girls,

Firstly, I joined this forum not long after buying my first (second hand) Defender, indeed my first 4WD earlier this year. 1998 130, has done 235K and I love it. Lots of good information on this site which has been very helpful. The issue is I live in Bundaberg and the local dealer seems as good as useless, unless I want to buy a new LR. My mechanic openly admits to not knowing much about LR's in general so I was off to a good start. Now to the issue at hand.

I noticed a small amount of water leaking onto the garage floor the other day. Bright coolant green. Took it to my mechanic, who had a look and immediately shyed away, and recommended I take it to a LR specialist. He said that the water leak looked like it was coming from behind the timing belt cover somewhere. In short, some radiator additive was added to 'patch it up' and band-aid the issue until I can get it looked at by someone who knows what they are doing.

Now all you spanner savvy people out there who might be tempted to suggest I get out my tools and start ripping things out...thank you, but I know my strengths and weaknesses, and this is definately something I wouldn't tackle. SO, finally to my questions, does this mean a BIG job, whereby once I am informed of the price to fix it, I'll assume the fetal position and start rocking back and forth? And can anybody recommend a mechanic close to Bundaberg?

I have done some looking on this forum, and found references to Gold City LR people in Gympie, and Brit Parts on the Sunshine Coast.

Would really appreciate any suggestions you might have. Thank you.

[justinc]

It is VERY probable it is only the 'P' gasket leaking, it isn't actualy behind the timing cover but the housing adjacent to it, that bolts to the front of the block on the passenger side and supports the wate pump, alternator and power steering pump. There is an upgraded steel shim type gasket available now, described as a 'coolant bracket gasket' but most in the knoiw call it the 'P' gasket, short for Pistol as it is shaped similarly.

An easy enough job as long as the 3 long bolts aren't corroded into the cover...:(

Bundy, not sure who you could ask around there Redcliffe is a bit of a hike but MR automotive know their stuff.

Your usual mech could do it, it is pretty straight forward no touching timing belts or anything like that.

JC

[D-Fen-Der]

Thank you Justinc, always great when someone takes the time to reply.

[Blknight.aus]

I second the P gasket. If you dont have the history of the timing belt being done, being at 235K Km its near on due to get the belt changed. This is also near enough to a 50K interval which means the front end of your engine would really really appreciate being pulled apart having the cooling sytstem clean out, the intercooler flushed and the hoses replaced with new ones.

should only take a day.

[D-Fen-Der]

Cheers Dave, like I said to JC, it's really great to have people take the time to reply to queries. When I bought the vehicle, I was told that the timing belt was done at 210K, but your advice makes perfect sense. Will just have to find someone locally who can do the job, or book it into one of those places I mentioned in my initial post. Have relatives at the Sunshine Coast, so might be a good excuse to visit them for a day or two.

[dromader driver]

D.

If you are going to get in there to do the P gasket which by the way also went on my Defender it pays to change the following as well
- p gasket
- water pump
- all the idler bearings
- timing belt
- check the fan bearing
- check alternator brushes and bearings or replace if it is still the original. .
- intercooler clean out

One lot of front end dismantling instead of doing it a couple of times or a break down on the side of the track.

Cheers

[D-Fen-Der]

Dromander, sounds like good advice too. Thank you for the reply.

Cheers


D.

If you are going to get in there to do the P gasket which by the way also went on my Defender it pays to change the following as well
- p gasket
- water pump
- all the idler bearings
- timing belt
- check the fan bearing
- check alternator brushes and bearings or replace if it is still the original. .
- intercooler clean out

One lot of front end dismantling instead of doing it a couple of times or a break down on the side of the track.

Cheers

[PAT303]

I second the P gasket. If you dont have the history of the timing belt being done, being at 235K Km its near on due to get the belt changed. This is also near enough to a 50K interval which means the front end of your engine would really really appreciate being pulled apart having the cooling sytstem clean out, the intercooler flushed and the hoses replaced with new ones.

should only take a day.

Very good advice.Keeping the cooling system clean is the key to happy Tdi ownership. Pat

[Fender Bender]

HI
There is a place at hervey bay called andersons Land rover they do mechanical work.
Raymond

[D-Fen-Der]

HI
There is a place at hervey bay called andersons Land rover they do mechanical work.
Raymond

Thank you Raymond, I will check them out. Hervey Bay is not too far from here.

[OLD]

D-Fen-Der

We have a 200tdi and a few months back I'd had enough of the bright green coolant leak as well, so I had it looked at by a top bloke in Morley here in WA. anyway, the problem with mine was a corroded water pump which meant the front cover had to come off - so while he was there, I had him change the timing belt, intercooler hoses and all went well after that.
Not suggesting (as I'm not familiar with 300's) this is what you're likely to experience, but the job including parts and labour came in under $1800 - there was other work being done but that cost a bit more.
All in all though, it's not the end (and it's a nice bit of comfort knowing the timing belt has been done while we're traveling with kids miles from anywhere).

[D-Fen-Der]

It's been a while since I logged on, but just wanted to thank you again JC for the advice as you were spot on. Was the P gasket, saved me loads of drama as my usual mechanic just wanted to send me to someone else telling me that I was in for a huge repair bill. Ended up getting another local mechanic who did a great job, and I got to keep my arms and legs. Cheers


It is VERY probable it is only the 'P' gasket leaking, it isn't actualy behind the timing cover but the housing adjacent to it, that bolts to the front of the block on the passenger side and supports the wate pump, alternator and power steering pump. There is an upgraded steel shim type gasket available now, described as a 'coolant bracket gasket' but most in the knoiw call it the 'P' gasket, short for Pistol as it is shaped similarly.

An easy enough job as long as the 3 long bolts aren't corroded into the cover...:(

Bundy, not sure who you could ask around there Redcliffe is a bit of a hike but MR automotive know their stuff.

Your usual mech could do it, it is pretty straight forward no touching timing belts or anything like that.

JC

[PAT303]

Looks like the first bloke lost a customer and the second gained one.Stay with the second guy and he'll repay the loyalty with good work. Pat