where's the coolant going??

[DassaW]

gday guys,

Thought i'd pick your brains a bit. My D1 is starting to lose coolant ever so slowly. It has only started happening a few weeks ago. We are currently travelling around oz, so the car is doing a lot of km's at the moment.

We seem to be going through about 1 litre every few days, seems to be worse when the weather is hotter, and maybe its just a coincidence but seems to be worse when we use the A/C.

Cant see any leakage from any hoses etc so not sure what else it could be. I read something about the heater core or something?

After driving for a few hours if I get out of the car I can smell coolant, but just not see anything.

Any suggestions on how to figure this out?

cheers

[85 county]

lift the bonnet, right hand side of the block, just below the head.

have a look there, the fan usually blows it away. so stop and have a watch with the motor off.

the other thing is, possibly is it actually losing water. what do you call low?

[goldey]

Dassa

We too are traveling around Oz and were losing similar quantity coolant as yourself. Until today. Our leak was out of the "P" gasket. I took the time today to pull the old leaking one out and renew it and the water pump gasket at our campground overlooking the Derwent in Hobart. Better view than the inside of my garage. As mentioned earlier have a look below the manifolds on the passenger side toward the front of the motor. If there's coolant dripping down then get on it because the leak doesn't get better or stay the same. It just gets worse.

Enjoy your travels

Cheers

Goldey

[luke68]

If you have no leaks at the front of the motor, check the two heater hoses that come from the back of the motor to the firewall. I had a similar problem where I was losing water and could smell coolant but couldn't see where it was leaking from until I found a puddle under the car at the local shops. There was a small tear/break in the heater hose that comes out the back of the head and goes into the firewall on the drivers side. You can't see the leak that well unless you grab the hoses and pull them up and away from the motor.

Cheers Luke.:)

[Pedro]

Well you can get a set of new coolant hoses and just replace the lot i would be cheap insurance if you are travelling around oz and don't forget to flush and reverse flush it both the radiator and the block.

[RR P38]

Check the O rings on your filler cap as well.
If you can smell but not see (fluid under the Landy) anything, you are loosing steam from your filler cap.

[mikecairns]

Have a d1 I just drove from melb to cairns, lost heaps of coolant, couldn't see where, could smell it, was the coolant reservoir cap, after a long stint, 300+ ks could just hear a hiss from the cap, lost 3-4 ltrs, never had the temp gauge rise, checked coolant level each morn, was ok, or so I thought.

[superquag]

Sure you have'nt got a pinhole or two in a hose ? - Found one in SWMBO's Magna last week. Lost 2 litres in a week, when I last checked levels...

Have had one so fine that it was only seen by chance at night with a torch. (looking for something else) And that was in a car only months old.

[DassaW]

Ok, so i have double checked every hose and fitting and cannot find any water or coolant anywhere. Yesterday we drove 100km and lost a litre.

But now that you guys mention it, I did hear the coolant reservoir cap slightly hissing yesterday. Could it possibly losing that much coolant through steam??

Anyway I will check the cap o-ring later and hopefully that will be the problem.

Thanks for the help guys.

Cheers

[loanrangie]

I would just get a new cap as it will be most likely the pressure release seal and not just an O ring.

[DassaW]

yeah I think I will just get a new cap. The o-ring looks fine, so hopefully it is the pressure relief valve.

At least I had installed the low reservoir level indicator, which indicates me everytime I have lost water, its a damn good bit of insurance!

now where to get a cap from, should i go genuine form LR or buy online?

[sheerluck]

now where to get a cap from, should i go genuine form LR or buy online?

Get a genuine LR, or at least OEM spec. Otherwise you will find yourself in the same state in a few months time.

Ask me how I know :angel:

[goldey]

Hey DassaW

Did you track down your missing coolant? After my "roadside repairs" in Hobart we're still losing coolant as well. Nowhere near as much but still doing it.

Cheers
Goldey

[Tank]

I'm still wondering what engine you have in your D1, seems everyone else knows as they are giving you directions on how to find/fix the problem, any takers on what engine you are all diagnosing, Merry Xmas, Regards Frank.

[Brian]

Just had similar in my D2a TD5, with 200K
Fill your reservoir with water and with engine running, and if you see bubbles, as I did, then it is indicative of a blown head gasket. All OK now after head gasket replacement.
Brian

[PhilipA]

Its a Tdi.
As I can see by the TDi badge on his Avatar.
Regards Philip A

[goldey]

300 tdi is the engine for both DassaW and mine

[Tank]

Its a Tdi.
As I can see by the TDi badge on his Avatar.
Regards Philip A
What! Are you the 6 million dollar man with telescopic vision, merry Xmas, Regards Frank.

[roverv8]

I have a 1988 RRC with a 4.6 in it, has the bigger 3.9 radiator also,

When i brought the vehicle it still had the old type overflow tank with a 7 PSI metal type cap,
I found it was pushing coolant past the 7 PSI cap via a coke bottle on the overflow hose,
so i tried a 15 PSI as per the plastic screw on type which is on the Later expansion tank.

Still no good, losing coolant, so i fitted a new large plastic expansion tank with a new 15 PSI cap and bottom rad hose to suit.
still using coolant, unfortunately in the end i had to do the head gaskets.

Moral of this story is, i never do the 15 PSI cap right up tight, just do it up a little firm hoping to achive around 7 to 10 PSI,
It doesn't use or force any coolant out at this either

[PhilipA]

What! Are you the 6 million dollar man with telescopic vision, merry Xmas, Regards Frank.

Gotcha, I knew someone would notice. If you click on his avatar on to his details there is a thread on his car with photos.
Regards Philip A

[roverv8]

I have a 1988 RRC with a 4.6 in it, has the bigger 3.9 radiator also,

When i brought the vehicle it still had the old type overflow tank with a 7 PSI metal type cap,
I found it was pushing coolant past the 7 PSI cap via a coke bottle on the overflow hose,
so i tried a 15 PSI as per the plastic screw on type which is on the Later expansion tank.

Still no good, losing coolant, so i fitted a new large plastic expansion tank with a new 15 PSI cap and bottom rad hose to suit.
still using coolant, unfortunately in the end i had to do the head gaskets.

Moral of this story is, i never do the 15 PSI cap right up tight, just do it up a little firm hoping to achive around 7 to 10 PSI,
It doesn't use or force any coolant out at this either

I should add,
My radiator had been rodded, a new thermostat and the viscous fan working correctly